Tañada vs. Angara

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 272
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Case Title:
WIGBERTO E. TAADA and ANNA
DOMINIQUE COSETENG, as
members of the Philippine Senate 18 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
and as taxpayers; GREGORIO Taada vs. Angara
ANDOLANA and JOKER ARROYO as
members of the House of *
G.R. No. 118295. May 2, 1997.
Representatives and as taxpayers;
NICANOR P. PERLAS and HORACIO
WIGBERTO E. TAADA and ANNA DOMINIQUE COSETENG, as
R. MORALES, both as taxpayers;
members of the Philippine Senate and as taxpayers; GREGORIO
CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, NATIONAL
ANDOLANA and JOKER ARROYO as members of the House of
ECONOMIC PROTECTIONISM Representatives and as taxpayers; NICANOR P. PERLAS and
ASSOCIATION, CENTER FOR HORACIO R. MORALES, both as taxpayers; CIVIL LIBERTIES
ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT UNION, NATIONAL ECONOMIC PROTECTIONISM
INITIATIVES, LIKAS-KAYANG ASSOCIATION, CENTER FOR ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT
KAUNLARAN FOUNDATION, INC., INITIATIVES, LIKAS-KAYANG KAUNLARAN FOUNDATION,
PHILIPPINE RURAL INC., PHILIPPINE RURAL RECONSTRUCTION MOVEMENT,
RECONSTRUCTION MOVEMENT, DEMOKRATIKONG KILUSAN NG MAGBUBUKID NG
DEMOKRATIKONG KILUSAN NG PILIPINAS, INC., and PHILIPPINE PEASANT INSTITUTE, in
MAGBUBUKID NG PILIPINAS, INC., representation of various taxpayers and as non-governmental
and PHILIPPINE PEASANT organizations, petitioners, vs. EDGARDO ANGARA, ALBERTO
INSTITUTE, in representation of ROMULO, LETICIA RAMOS-SHAHANI, HEHERSON ALVAREZ,
AGAPITO AQUINO, RODOLFO BIAZON, NEPTALI
various taxpayers and as non-
governmental organizations,
petitioners, vs. EDGARDO ANGARA, ______________
ALBERTO ROMULO, LETICIA RAMOS-
* EN BANC.
SHAHANI, HEHERSON ALVAREZ,
AGAPITO AQUINO, RODOLFO 19
BIAZON, NEPTALI, GONZALES,
ERNESTO HERRERA, JOSE LINA,
VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 19
GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO,
ORLANDO MERCADO, BLAS OPLE, Taada vs. Angara
JOHN OSMEA, SANTANINA RASUL,
RAMON REVILLA, RAUL ROCO,
FRANCISCO TATAD and FREDDIE GONZALES, ERNESTO HERRERA, JOSE LINA, GLORIA
WEBB, in their respective capacities MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, ORLANDO MERCADO, BLAS OPLE,
JOHN OSMEA, SANTANINA RASUL, RAMON REVILLA, RAUL
as members of the Philippine Senate
ROCO, FRANCISCO TATAD and FREDDIE WEBB, in their
who concurred in the ratification by
respective capacities as members of the Philippine Senate who
the President of the Philippines of the concurred in the ratification by the President of the Philippines of
Agreement Establishing the World the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization;
Trade Organization; SALVADOR SALVADOR ENRIQUEZ, in his capacity as Secretary of Budget and
ENRIQUEZ, in his capacity as Management; CARIDAD VALDEHUESA, in her capacity as
Secretary of Budget and National Treasurer; RIZALINO NAVARRO, in his capacity as
Management; CARIDAD Secretary of Trade and Industry; ROBERTO SEBASTIAN, in his
VALDEHUESA, in her capacity as capacity as Secretary of Agriculture; ROBERTO DE OCAMPO, in
National Treasurer; RIZALINO his capacity as Secretary of Finance; ROBERTO ROMULO, in his
NAVARRO, in his capacity as capacity as Secretary of Foreign Affairs; and TEOFISTO T.
Secretary of Trade and Industry; GUINGONA, in his capacity as Executive Secretary, respondents.
ROBERTO SEBASTIAN, in his capacity
as Secretary of Agriculture; Constitutional Law; Judicial Review; Separation of Powers; Where an
ROBERTO DE OCAMPO, in his action of the legislative branch is seriously alleged to have infringed the
capacity as Secretary of Finance; Constitution, it becom es not only the right but in fact the duty of the
ROBERTO ROMULO, in his capacity judiciary to settle the dispute.In seeking to nullify an act of the
as Secretary of Foreign Affairs; and Philippine Senate on the ground that it contravenes the Constitution, the
petition no doubt rais es a justiciable controversy. Where an action of the
TEOFISTO T. GUINGONA, in his
legislative branch is seriously alleged to have infringed the Cons titution,
capacity as Executive Secretary,
it becomes not only the right but in fact the duty of the judiciary to settle
respondents.
Citation: 272 SCRA 18 the dispute. The question thus posed is judicial rather than political. The
More... duty (to adjudicate) remains to assure that the supremacy of the
Constitution is upheld. Once a controvers y as to the application or
interpretation of a constitutional provision is raised before this Court (as
Search Result in the instant case), it becomes a legal issue which the Court is bound by
constitutional mandate to decide.
Same; Same; Actions; Special Civil Actions; Certiorari, prohibition and
mandamus are appropriate remedies to raise constitutional issues and to
review and/or prohibit/nullify, when proper, acts of legislative and
executive officials.As the petition alleges grave abuse of discretion and as
there is no other pl ain, speedy or adequate remedy in the ordinary course
of law, we have no hesitation at all in holding that this petition should be
given due course and the
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20 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Taada vs. Angara
vital questions raised therein ruled upon under Rule 65 of the Rules of
Court. Indeed, certiorari, prohibition and mandamus are appropriate
remedies to raise constitutional issues and to review and/or
prohibit/nullify, when proper, acts of legislative and executive officials. On
this, we have no equivocation.
Same; Same; Same; Same; In deciding to take jurisdiction over this
petition, the Supreme Court does not review the wisdom of the decision of
the President and the Senate in enlisting the country in the WTO, or pass
upon the merits of trade liberalization as a policy espoused by said
international body, rather, it only exercises its constitutional duty to
determine whether or not there had been a grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of the Senate in
ratifying the WTO Agreement and its three annexes.We should stres s
that, in deciding to take jurisdiction over this petition, this Court will not
review the wisdom of the decision of the President and the Senate in
enlisting the country into the WTO, or pass upon the m erits of trade
liberalization as a policy espoused by said international body. Neither will
it rule on the propriety of the governments economic policy of
reducing/removing tariffs, taxes, subsidies, quantitative restrictions, and
other import/trade barriers. Rather, it will only exercise its constitutional
duty to determine whether or not there had been a grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of the
Senate in ratifying the WTO Agreement and its three annexes.
Same; Constitutional Principles and State Policies; The principles and
state policies enumerated in Article II and some sections of Article XII are
not self-executing provisions, the disregard of which can give rise to a cause
of action in the courts.By its very title, Article II of the Constitution is a
declaration of principles and state policies. The counterpart of this
article in the 1935 Constitution is called the bas ic political creed of the
nation by Dean Vicente Sinco. These principles in Article II are not
intended to be self-executing principles ready for enforcement through the
courts. They are used by the judiciary as aids or as guides in the exercise
of its power of judicial review, and by the legislature in its enactment of
laws. As held in the leading case of Kilosbayan, Incorporated vs. Morato,
the principles and state policies enumerated in Article II and some
sections of Article XII are not self-executing provis ions, the disregard of
which can give rise to a cause of action in the courts. They do not embody
judicially enforceable constitutional rights but guidelines for legislation.
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Taada vs. Angara
Same; Same; Separation of Powers; Due Process.The reasons for

denying a cause of action to an alleged infringement of broad
constitutional principles are sourced from basic considerations of due
process and the lack of judicial authority to wade into the uncharted
ocean of social and economic policy making.
Same; Same; Trade Liberalization; Filipino First Policy; While the
Constitution indeed mandates a bias in favor of Filipino goods, services,
labor and enterprises, at the same time, it recognizes the need for business
exchange with the rest of the world on the bases of equality and reciprocity
and limits protection of Filipino enterprises only against foreign
competition and trade practices that are unfairthe Constitution did not
intend to pursue an isolationist policy.All told, while the Constitution
indeed mandates a bias in favor of Filipino goods, services, labor and
enterprises, at the same time, it recognizes the need for business exchange
with the rest of the world on the bases of equality and reciprocity and
limits protection of Filipino enterprises only against foreign competition
and trade practices that are unfair. In other words, the Constitution did
not intend to pursue an isolationist policy. It did not shut out foreign
investments, goods and services in the development of the Philippine
economy. While the Constitution does not encourage the unlimited entry of
foreign goods, services and investments into the country, it does not
prohibit them either. In fact, it allows an exchange on the basis of equality
and reciprocity, frowning only on foreign competition that is unfair.
Same; Same; Same; Same; World Trade Organization (WTO); General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT); There is hardly any basis for the
statement that under the WTO, local industries and enterprises will all be
wiped out and that Filipinos will be deprived of control of the economy, for,
quite to the contrary, the weaker situations of developing nations like the
Philippines have been taken into account.Moreover, GATT itself has
provided built-in protection from unfair foreign competition and trade
practices including anti-dumping measures, countervailing measures and
safeguards against import surges. Where local business are jeopardized by
unfair foreign competition, the Philippines can avail of these measures.
There is hardly therefore any basis for the statement that under the WTO,
local industries and enterprises will all be wiped out and that Filipinos
will be deprived of control of the economy. Quite the contrary, the weaker
situations of developin g na ti on s like the Philippines have been taken
into account; thus, there would be no basis to say
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Taada vs. Angara
that in joining the WTO, the respondents have gravely abused their
discretion. True, they have made a bold decision to steer the ship of state
into the yet uncharted sea of economic liberalization. But such decision
cannot be set aside on the ground of grave abuse of discretion, simply
because we disagree with it or simply because we believe only in other
economic policies. As earlier stated, the Court in taking jurisdiction of this
case will not pass upon the advantages and disadvantages of trade
liberalization as an economic policy. It will only perform its constitutional
duty of determining whether the Senate committed grave abuse of
discretion.
Same; Same; Same; Same; Same; Same; The fundamental law
encourages industries that are competitive in both domestic and foreign
markets, thereby demonstrating a clear policy against a sheltered domestic
trade environment, but one in favor of the gradual developm ent of robust
industries that can compete with the best in the foreign markets.The
WTO reliance on most favored nation, national treatment, and trade
without discrimination cannot be struck down as unconstitutional as in
fact they are rules of equality and reciprocity that apply to all WTO
members. Aside from envisioning a trade policy based on equality and
reciprocity, the fundamental law encourages industries that are
competitive in both domestic and foreign markets, thereby
demonstrating a clear policy against a sheltered domestic trade
environment, but one in favor of the gradual development of robust
industries that can compete with the best in the foreign markets. Indeed,
Filipino managers and Filipino enterprises have shown capability and
tenacity to compete internationally. And given a free trade environment,
Filipino entrepreneurs and managers in Hongkong have demonstrated the
Filipino capacity to grow and to prosper against the best offered under a
policy of laissez faire.
Same; Same; Same; Same; Same; Same; Political Questions; The
responses to questions on whether WTO/GATT will favor the general
welfare of the public at large involve judgment calls by our policy makers,
for which they are answerable to our people during appropriate electoral
exercisessuch questions and the answers thereto are not subject to
judicial pronouncements based on grave abuse of discretion.
Consequently, the question boils down to whether WTO/GATT will favor
the general welfare of the public at large. Will adherence to the W TO
treaty bring this ideal (of favoring the general welfare) to reality? Will
WTO/GATT succeed in promoting the Filipinos general welfare because it
willas promised by its
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Taada vs. Angara
promotersexpand the countrys exports and generate more employment?

Will it bring more prosperity, employment, purchasing power and quality
products at the most reasonable rates to the Filipino public? The responses
to these questions involve judgment calls by our policy makers, for which
they are answerable to our people during appropriate electoral exercises.
Such questions and the answers thereto are not subject to judicial
pronouncements based on grave abuse of discretion.
Same; It is to the credit of its drafters that the Constitution can
withstand the assaults of bigots and infidels but at the same time bend
with the refreshing winds of change necessitated by unfolding events.It is
not difficult to answer this question. Constitutions are designed to meet
not only the vagaries of contemporary events. They should be interpreted
to cover even future and unknown circumstances. It is to the credit of its
drafters that a Constitution can withstand the assaults of bigots and
infidels but at the same time bend with the refreshing winds of change
necessitated by unfolding events. As one eminent political law writer and
respected jurist explains: The Constitution must be quintessential rather
than superficial, the root and not the blossom, the base and framework
only of the edifice that is yet to rise. It is but the core of the dream that
must take shape, not in a twinkling by mandate of our delegates, but
slowly in the crucible of Filipino minds and hearts, where it will in time
develop its sinews and gradually gather its strength and finally achieve its
substance. In fine, the Constitution cannot, like the goddess Athena, rise
full-grown from the brow of the Constitutional Convention, nor can it
conjure by mere fiat an instant Utopia. It must grow with the society it
seeks to re-structure and march apace with the progress of the race,
drawing from the vicissitudes of history the dynamism and vitality that
will keep it, far from becoming a petrified rule, a pulsing, living law
attuned to the heartbeat of the nation.
Same; International Law; While sovereignty has traditionally been
deemed absolute and allencompassing on the domestic level, it is however
subject to restrictions and limi tation s vol un tari ly agreed to by the
Philippines, expressly or impliedly, as a mem ber of the family of nations.
This Court notes and appreciates the ferocity and passion by which
petitioners stressed their arguments on this issue. However, while
sovereignty has traditionally been deemed absolute and all-encompassing
on the domestic level, it is however subject to restrictions and limitations
voluntarily agreed to by the
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Taada vs. Angara
Philippines, expressly or impliedly, as a member of the family of nations.

Unquestionably, the Constitution did not envision a hermit-type isolation
of the country from the rest of the world.
Same; Same; Doctrine of I ncorporation; Words and Phrases; By the
doctrine of incorporation, the country is bound by generally accepted
principles of international law, which are considered automatically part of
our own laws.In its Declaration of Principles and State Policies, the
Constitution adopts the generally accepted principles of international law
as part of the law of the land, and adheres to the policy of peace, equality,
justice, freedom, cooperation and amity, with all nations. By the doctrine
of incorporation, the country is bound by generally accepted principles of
international law, which are considered to be autom atically part of our
own laws. One of the oldest and most fundamental rules in international
law is pacta sunt servandainternational agreements must be performed
in good faith. A treaty engagement is not a mere moral obligation but
creates a legally binding obligation on the parties x x x. A state which has
contracted valid international obligations is bound to make in its
legislations such modifications as may be necessary to ensure the
fulfillment of the obligations undertaken.
Same; Same; Treaties; By their voluntary act, nations may surrender
some aspects of their state power in exchange for greater benefits granted by
or derived from a convention or pact.By their inherent nature, treaties
really limit or restrict the absoluteness of sovereignty. By their voluntary
act, nations may surrender some aspects of their state power in exchange
for greater benefits granted by or derived from a convention or pact. After
all, states, like individuals, live with coequals, and in pursuit of mutually
covenanted objectives and benefits, they also commonly agree to limit the
exercise of their otherwise absolute rights.
Same; Same; Same; World Trade Organization; Pleadings and
Practice; Article 34 of the General Provisions and Basic Principles of the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS) does not contain an unreasonable burden, consistent as it is with
due process and the concept of adversarial dispute settlement inherent in
Philippine judicial system.Petitioners aver that paragraph 1, Article 34
of the General Provisions and Basic Principles of the Agreement on T ra
de-Rel a ted A s pects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) intrudes on
the power of the Supreme Court to prom ulgate rules concerning pleading,
practice and proce-
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Taada vs. Angara
dures. x x x By and large, the arguments adduced in connection with our

dis position of the third issuederogation of legislative powerwill apply
to this fourth issue also. Suffice it to say that the reciprocity clause more
than justifies such intrusion, if any actually exists. Besides, Article 34 does
not contain an unreasonable burden, consistent as it is with due process
and the concept of adversarial dispute settlement inherent in our judicial
system. So too, since the Philippines is a signatory to most international
conventions on patents, trademarks and copyrights, the adjus tment in
legislation and rules of procedure will not be substantial.
Same; Same; Same; Same; Same; Patents; Evidence; Words and
Phrases; Burden of Proof; Burden of Evidence; The burden of proof
contemplated by Article 34 should actually and properly be understood as
referring to the burden of evidence (burden of going forward) placed on
the producer of identical (or fake) product to show that his product was
produced without the use of the patented processthe patent owner still
has the burden of proof since he still has to introduce evidence of the
existence of the alleged identical product, the fact that it is identical to the
genuine one produced by the patented process and the fact of newness of
the genuine product or the fact of substantial likelihood that the identical
product was made by the patented process.From the above, a WTO
Member is required to provide a rule of dis putable (note the words in the
absence of proof to the contrary) presumption that a product shown to be
identical to one produced with the use of a patented process shall be
deemed to have been obtained by the (illegal) use of the said patented
process, (1) where such product obtained by the patented product is new,
or (2) where there is substantial likelihood that the identical product was
made with the use of the said patented process but the owner of the patent
could not determine the exact process used in obtaining such identical
product. Hence, the burden of proof contemplated by Article 34 should
actually be understood as the duty of the alleged patent infringer to
overthrow such presumption. Such burden, properly understood, actually
refers to the burden of evidence (burden of going forward) placed on the
producer of the identical (or fake) product to show that his product was
produced without the use of the patented process. The foregoing
notwithstanding, the patent owner still has the burden of proof since,
regardles s of the presumption provided under paragraph 1 of Article 34,
such owner still has to introduce evidence of the existence of the alleged
identical product, the fact that it is identical to the genuine one produced
by the patented process and the fact of
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Taada vs. Angara
newness of the genuine product or the fact of substantial likelihood

that the identical product was made by the patented process.
Same; Same; Same; Same; Words and Phrases; Final Act, Explained.
A final act, sometimes called protocol de clture, is an instrument
which records the winding up of the proceedings of a diplomatic conference
and usually includes a reproduction of the texts of treaties, conventions,
recommendations and other acts agreed upon and s igned by the
plenipotentiaries attending the conference. It is not the treaty itself. It is
rather a summary of the proceedings of a protracted conference which may
have taken place over several years .
Same; Judicial Review; Words and Phrases; Certiorari; By grave abuse
of discretion is meant such capricious and whimsical exercise of judgment
as is equivalent to lack of jurisdiction, and mere abuse of discretion is not
enoughit must be grave.By grave abuse of discretion is meant such
capricious and whimsical exercise of judgment as is equivalent to lack of
jurisdiction. Mere abuse of discretion is not enough. It mus t be grave
abuse of discretion as when the power is exercised in an arbitrary or
despotic manner by reason of passion or personal hostility, and must be so
patent and so gross as to amount to an evasion of a positive duty or to a
virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined or to act at all in
contemplation of law. Failure on the part of the petitioner to show grave
abus e of discretion will result in the dismissal of the petition.
Same; Same; Separation of Powers; In rendering this Decision, the
Supreme Court never forgets that the Senate, whose act is under review, is
one of two sovereign houses of Congress and is thus entitled to great respect
in its actions.In rendering this Decision, this Court never forgets that
the Senate, whose act is under review, is one of two sovereign houses of
Congress and is thus entitled to great respect in its actions. It is itself a
constitutional body independent and coordinate, and thus its actions are
presumed regular and done in good faith. Unless convincing proof and
persuasive arguments are presented to overthrow such presumptions, this
Court will resolve every doubt in its favor. Using the foregoing well-
accepted definition of grave abuse of discretion and the presumption of
regularity in the Senates processes, this Court cannot find any cogent
reason to impute grave abuse of discretion to the Senates exercise of its
power of concurrence in the WTO Agreement granted it by Sec. 21 of
Article VII of the Constitution.
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Taada vs. Angara
Same; Same; Same; Treaties; World Trade Organization; The Senate

Act, after deliberation and voting, of voluntarily and overwhelmingly
giving its consent to the WTO Agreement thereby making it a part of the
law of the land, is a legitimate exercise of its sovereign duty and power.
That the Senate, after deliberation and voting, voluntarily and
overwhelmingly gave its consent to the WTO Agreement thereby making it
a part of the law of the land is a legitimate exercise of its sovereign duty
and power. W e find no patent and gross arbitrariness or des potism by
reas on of passion or personal hostility in such exercise. It is not
impossible to surmise that this Court, or at least some of its members,
may even agree with petitioners that it is more advantageous to the
national interest to strike down Senate Resolution No. 97. But that is not
a legal reason to attribute grave abuse of dis cretion to the Senate and to
nullify its decision. To do so would constitute grave abuse in the exercise of
our own judicial power and duty. Ineludably, what the Senate did was a
valid exercise of its authority. As to whether such exercise was wise,
beneficial or viable is outside the realm of judicial inquiry and review.
That is a matter between the elected policy makers and the people. As to
whether the nation should join the worldwide march toward trade
liberalization and economic globalization is a matter that our people
should determine in electing their policy makers. After all, the WTO
Agreement allows withdrawal of membership, should this be the political
desire of a member.
World Trade Organization; Trade Liberalization; I nternational Law;
Notwithstanding objections against possible limitations on national
sovereignty, the WTO remains as the only viable structure for multilateral
trading and the veritable forum for the development of international trade
law.The eminent futurist John Naisbitt, author of the best seller
Megatrends, predicts an Asian Renaissance where the East will become
the dominant region of the world economically, politically and culturally in
the next century. He refers to the free market espoused by WTO as the
catalyst in this coming Asian ascendancy. There are at present about 31
countries including China, Russia and Saudi Arabia negotiating for
membership in the WTO. Notwithstanding objections against possible
limitations on national sovereignty, the WTO remains as the only viable
structure for multilateral trading and the veritable forum for the
development of international trade law. The alternative to WTO is
isolation, stagnation, if not economic self-destruction. Duly enriched with
original membership, keenly aware of the advantages and disadvantages
of globalization with its on-line experience, and endowed with
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Taada vs. Angara
a vision of the future, the Philippines now straddles the crossroads of an

international strategy for economic prosperity and stability in the new
millennium. Let the people, through their duly authorized elected officers ,
make their free choice.
SPECIAL CIVIL ACTION in the Supreme Court. Certiorari.
The facts are stated in the Opinion of the Court.

Abelardo F. Domondon for petitioners.
The Solicitor General for respondents.
PANGANIBAN, J.:
The emergence on January 1, 1995 of the World Trade
Organization, abetted by the membership thereto of the vast
majority of countries, has revolutionized international business and
economic relations amongst states. It has irreversibly propelled the
world towards trade liberalization and economic globalization.
Liberalization, globalization, deregulation and privatization, the
third-millennium buzz words, are ushering in a new borderless
world of business by sweeping away as mere historical relics the
heretofore traditional modes of promoting and protecting national
economies like tariffs, export subsidies, import quotas, quantitative
restrictions, tax exemptions and currency controls. Finding market
niches and becoming the best in specific industries in a market-
driven and export-oriented global scenario are replacing age-old
beggar-thy-neighbor policies that unilaterally protect weak and
inefficient domestic producers of goods and services. In the words of
Peter Drucker, the well-known management guru, Increased
participation in the world economy has become the key to domestic
economic growth and prosperity.
Brief Historical Background
To hasten worldwide recovery from the devastation wrought by the

Second World War, plans for the establishment of three multilateral
institutionsinspired by that grand political body, the United
Nationswere discussed at
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Taada vs. Angara
Dumbarton Oaks and Bretton Woods. The first was the World Bank
(WB) which was to address the rehabilitation and reconstruction of
war-ravaged and later developing countries; the second, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) which was to deal with
currency problems; and the third, the International Trade
Organization (ITO), which was to foster order and predictability in
world trade and to minimize unilateral protectionist policies that
invite challenge, even retaliation, from other states. However, for a
variety of reasons, including its non-ratification by the United
States, the ITO, unlike the IMF and WB, never took off. What
remained was only GATTthe General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade. GATT was a collection of treaties governing access to the
economies of treaty adherents with no institutionalized body
administering the agreements or dependable system of dispute
settlement.
After half a century and several dizzying rounds of negotiations,
principally the Kennedy Round, the Tokyo Round and the Uruguay
Round, the world finally gave birth to that administering bodythe
World Trade Organizationwith the signing of the Final Act in
Marrakesh, Morocco
1
and the ratification of the WTO Agreement by
its members.
______________
1 In Annex A of her Memorandum, dated August 8, 1996, received by this
Court on August 12, 1996, Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations , World
Trade Organization and other international organizations Lilia R. Bautista
(hereafter referred to as Bautista Paper) submitted a 46-year Chronology of
GATT as follows:
1947 The birth of GATT. On 30 October 1947, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) was signed by 23 nations at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Agreement
contained tariff concessions agreed to in the first multilateral trade negotiations and a set of
rules designed to prevent these concessions from being frustrated by restrictive trade
measures.
The 23 founding contracting parties were members of the Preparatory Committee
established by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1946 to draft the charter of
the International Trade Organization (ITO). The ITO was envis-
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Taada vs. Angara
Like many other developing countries, the Philippines joined WTO

as a founding member with the goal, as articu-
_______________
aged as the final leg of a triad of post-War economic agencies (the other two were the
International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstructionlater the
World Bank).
In parallel with this task, the Committee members decided to negotiate tariff conces sions
among themselves. From April to October 1947, the participants completed some 123
negotiations and established 20 schedules containing the tariff reductions and bindings
which became an integral part of GATT. These schedules resulting from the first Round
covered some 45,000 tariff concessions and about $10 billion in trade.
GATT was conceived as an interim measure that put into effect the commercial-policy
provisions of the ITO. In November, delegations from 56 countries met in Havana, Cuba, to
consider the ITO draft as a whole. After long and difficult negotiations, s ome 53 countries
signed the Final Act authenticating the text of the Havana Charter in March 1948. There
was no commitment, however, from governments to ratification and, in the end, the ITO was
stillborn, leaving GATT as the only international instrument governing the conduct of world
trade.
1948 Entry into force. On 1 January 1948, GATT entered into force. The 23 founding mem
bers were: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Ceylon, Chile, China, Cuba,
Czechoslovakia, France, India, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Pakistan, Southern Rhodesia, Syria, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States.
The firs t Session of the Contracting Parties was held from February to March in Havana,
Cuba. The secretariat of the Interim Commiss ion for the ITO, which served as the ad hoc
secretariat of GATT, moved from Lake Placid, New York, to Geneva. The Contracting Parties
held their second session in Geneva from August to September.
1949 Second Round at Annecy. During the second Round of trade negotiations, held from
April to August at Annecy, France, the contracting parties exchanged some 5,000 tariff
concess ions. At their third Session, they also dealt with the access ion of ten more countries.
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Taada vs. Angara
lated by President Fidel V. Ramos in two letters to the Senate

(infra), of improving Philippine access to foreign markets,
especially its major trading partners, through the reduction of
tariffs on its exports, particularly agricultural and industrial
products. The President also saw in the WTO the opening of
_______________
1950 Third Round at Torquay. From September 1950 to April 1951, the contracting parties
exchanged some 8,700 tariff concessions in the English town, yielding tariff reduction of
about 25 per cent in relation to the 1948 level. Four more countries acceded to GATT. During
the fifth Session of the Contracting Parties, the United States indicated that the ITO Charter
would not be re-submitted to the US Congress; this, in effect, meant that ITO would not come
into operation.
1956 Fourth Round at Geneva. The fourth Round was completed in May and produced
some $2.5 billion worth of tariff reductions . At the beginning of the year, the GATT
commercial policy course for officials of developing countries was inaugurated.
1958 The Haberler Report. GATT published Trends in International Trade in October.
Known as the Haberler Report in honour of Professor Gottfried Haberler, the chairman of
the panel of eminent economists, it provided initial guidelines for the work of GATT. The
Contracting Parties at their 13th Session, attended by Ministers, subsequently established
three committees in GATT: Committee I to convene a further tariff negotiating conference;

Committee II to review the agricultural policies of member governments; and Committee III
to tackle the problems facing developing countries in their trade. The establishment of the
European Economic Community during the previous year also demanded large-scale tariff
negotiations under Article XXIV:6 of the General Agreement.
1960 The Dillon Round. The fifth Round opened in September and was divided into two
phases: the first was concerned with negotiations with EEC member s tates for the creation
of a single schedule of concessions for the Community based on its Common External Tariff;
and the second was a further general round of tariff negotiations. Named in honour of US
UnderSecretary of State Douglas Dillon who proposed the negotiations, the Round was
concluded in July 1962 and resulted in about 4,400 tariff concessions covering $4.9 billion of
trade.
32

Taada vs. Angara
new opportunities for the services sector x x x, (the reduction of)

costs and uncertainty associated with exporting x x x, and
_______________
1961 The Short-Term Arrangement covering cotton textiles was agreed as an exception to the
GATT rules. The arrangement permitted the negotiation of quota restrictions affecting the
exports of cotton-producing countries. In 1962 the Short Term Arrangement became the
Long term Arrangement, lasting until 1974 when the Multifibre Arrangement entered into
force.
1964 The Kennedy Round. Meeting at Ministerial level, a Trade Negotiations Committee
formally opened the Kennedy Round in May. In June 1967, the Rounds Final Act was signed
by some 50 participating countries which together accounted for 75 per cent of world trade.
For the first time, negotiations departed from the product-by-product approach used in the
previous Rounds to an across-the-board or linear method of cutting tariffs for industrial
goods. The working hypothesis of a 50 per cent target cut in tariff levels was achieved in
many areas. Concessions covered an estimated total value of trade of about $40 billion.
Separate agreements were reached on grains, chemical products and a Code on Anti-
Dumping.
1965 A New Chapter. The early 1960s marked the accession to the General Agreement of
many newly-independent developing countries. I n February, the Contracting Parties,
meeting in a special session, adopted the text of Part IV on Trade and Development. The
additional chapter to the GATT required developed countries to accord high priority to the
reduction of trade barriers to products of developing countries. A Committee on Trade and
Development was established to oversee the functioning of the new GATT provisions. In the
preceding year, GATT had established the International Trade Centre (ITC) to help
developing countries in trade promotion and identification of potential markets. Since 1968,
the ITC had been jointly operated by GATT and the UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD). 1973 The Tokyo Round. The seventh Round was launched by
Ministers in September at the Japanese capital. Some 99 countries participated in
negotiating a comprehensive body of agreements covering both tariff and non-tariff matters.
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VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 33

Taada vs. Angara
(the attraction of) more investments into the country. Although the
Chief Executive did not expressly mention it in his
_______________
At the end of the Round in November 1979, participants exchanged tariff reductions and
bindings which covered more than $300 billion of trade. As a result of these cuts, the
weighted average tariff on manufactured goods in the worlds nine major industrial markets
declined from 7.0 to 4.7 per cent. Agreements were reached in the following areas: subsidies
and countervailing measures, technical barriers to trade, import licensing procedures,
government procurement, customs valuation, a revised anti-dumping code, trade in bovine
meat, trade in dairy products and trade in civil aircraft. The first concrete result of the Round
was the reduction of import duties and other trade barriers by industrial countries on tropical
products exported by developing countries.
1974 On 1 January 1974, the Arrangement Regarding International Trade in Textiles,
otherwise known as the Multi-fibre Arrangement (MFA), entered into force. I t superseded the
arrangements that had been governing trade in cotton textiles since 1961. The MFA seeks to
promote the expansion and progressive liberalization of trade in textile products while at the
same time avoiding disruptive effects in individual markets and lines of production. The MFA
was extended in 1978, 1982, 1986, 1991 and 1992. MFA members account for most of the
world exports of textiles and clothing which in 1986 amounted to US$128 billion.
1982 Ministerial Meeting. Meeting for the first time in nearly ten years, the GATT
Ministers in November at Geneva reaffirmed the validity of GATT rules for the conduct of
international trade and committed themselves to combating protectionist pressures. They
also established a wide-ranging work programme for the GATT which was to lay down the
groundwork for a new Round.
1986 The Uruguay Round. The GATT Trade Mi ni sters meeting at Punta del Este,
Uruguay, launched the eighth Round of trade negotiations on 20 September. The Punta del
Este Declaration, while representing a single political undertaking, was divided into two
sections. The first covered negotiations on trade in goods and the second initiated negotiation
on trade in s ervices. In the area of trade in goods, the Minis
34

Taada vs. Angara
letter, the Philippinesand this is of special interest to the legal

professionwill benefit from the WTO system of dispute settlement
by judicial adjudication through the independent WTO settlement
bodies called (1) Dispute Settlement Panels and (2) Appellate
Tribunal. Heretofore, trade disputes were settled mainly through
negotiations where solutions were arrived at frequently on the basis
of relative bargaining strengths, and where naturally, weak and
underdeveloped countries were at a disadvantage.
The Petition in Brief
Arguing mainly (1) that the WTO requires the Philippines to place
nationals and products of member-countries on the same footing as
Filipinos and local products and (2) that the WTO intrudes, limits
and/or impairs the constitutional powers of both Congress an d th e
Su preme Court, the instant petition before this Court assails the
WTO Agreement for
________________
ters committed themselves to a standstill on new trade measures inconsis tent with their
GATT obligations and to a rollback programme aimed at phasing out existing inconsistent
measures. Envisaged to last four years, negotiations started in early February 1987 in the
following areas: tariffs, non-tariff measures, tropical products, natural resource-based
products, textiles and clothing, agriculture, subsidies, safeguards, trade-related aspects of
intellectual property rights including trade in counterfeit goods, and trade-related
investment meas ures . The work of other groups included a review of GATT articles, the
GATT dispute-settlement procedure, the Tokyo Round agreements, as well as the functioning
of the GATT system as a whole.
1994 GATT 1994 is the updated version of GATT 1947 and takes into account the
substantive and institutional changes negotiated in the Uruguay Round. GATT 1994 is an
integral part of the World Trade Organization established on 1 January 1995. It is agreed
that there be a one year transition period during which certain GATT 1947 bodies and
commitments would co-exist with those of the World Trade Organization.
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VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 35

Taada vs. Angara
violating the mandate of the 1987 Constitution to develop a self-

reliant and independent national economy effectively controlled by
Filipinos x x x (to) give preference to qualified Filipinos (and to)
promote the preferential use of Filipino labor, domestic materials
and locally produced goods.
Simply stated, does the Philippine Constitution prohibit
Philippine participation in worldwide trade liberalization and
economic globalization? Does it proscribe Philippine integration into
a global economy that is liberalized, deregulated and privatized?
These are the main questions raised in this petition for certiorari,
prohibition and mandamus under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court
praying (1) for the nullification, on constitutional grounds, of the
concurrence of the Philippine Senate in the ratification by the
President of the Philippines of the Agreement Establishing the
World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement, for brevity) and (2) for
the prohibition of its implementation and enforcement through the
release and utilization of public funds, the assignment of public
officials and employees, as well as the use of government properties
and resources by respondent-heads of various executive offices
concerned therewith. This concurrence is embodied in Senate
Resolution No. 97, dated December 14, 1994.
The Facts
On April 15, 1994, Respondent Rizalino Navarro, then Secretary of

the Department of Trade and Industry (Secretary Navarro, for
brevity), representing the Government of the Republic of the
Philippines, signed in Marrakesh, Morocco, the Final Act
Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral
Negotiations (Final Act, for brevity).
2
By signing the Final Act, Secretary Navarro on behalf of the
Republic of the Philippines, agreed:
_______________
2 The Final Act was signed by repres entatives of 125 entities, namely Algeria,
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentine Republic, Australia, Republic of Austria,

State of Bahrain, Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Barbados, The Kingdom of
Belgium, Belize, Republic of
36

Taada vs. Angara
(a) to submit, as appropriate, the WTO Agreement for the

consideration of their respective competent authorities, with a view
to seeking approval of the Agreement in accordance with their
procedures; and
(b) to adopt the Ministerial Declarations and Decisions.
On August 12, 1994, the members of the Philippine Senate received

a letter dated August 11, 1994 from the President of
_______________
Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon,
Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Peoples Republic of China, Colombia, Congo,
Costa Rica, Republic of Cote dIvoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Kingdom of Denmark,
Commonwealth of Dominica, Dominican Republic, Arab Republic of Egypt, El Salvador,
European Communities, Republic of Fiji, Finland, French Republic, Gabonese Republic,
Gambia, Federal Republic of Germany, Ghana, Hellenic Republic, Grenada, Guatemala,
Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hongkong, Hungary,
Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, State of Israel, Italian Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya,
Korea, State of Kuwait, Kingdom of Lesotho, Principality of Liechtenstein, Grand Duchy of
Luxembourg, Macau, Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Malaysia, Republic of
Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Republic of
Mauritius, United Mexican States, Kingdom of Morocco, Republic of Mozambique, Union of
Myanmar, Republic of Namibia, Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua,
Republic of Niger, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Kingdom of Norway, Islamic Republic of
Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portuguese Republic, State of Qatar,
Romania, Rwandese Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Kingdom of
Spain, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Republic of Surinam, Kingdom of
Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Swiss Confederation, United Republic of Tanzania, Kingdom
of Thailand, Togolese Republic, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda,
United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern I reland, United
States of America, Eastern Republic of Uruguay, Venezuela, Republic of Zaire, Republic of
Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe; see pp. 6-25, Vol. 1, Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade
Negotiations.
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Taada vs. Angara
3
the Philippines, stating among others that the Uruguay Round
Final Act is hereby submitted to the Senate for its
________________
3
11 August 1994
The Honorable Members
Senate
Through Senate President Edgardo Angara
Manila
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I have the honor to forward herewith an authenticated copy of the Uruguay
Round Final Act signed by Department of Trade and Industry Secretary
Rizalino S. Navarro for the Philippines on 15 April 1994 in Marrakesh,
Morocco.
The Uruguay Round Final Act aims to liberalize and expand world trade
and strengthen the interrelationship between trade and economic policies
affecting growth and development.
The Final Act will improve Philippine access to foreign markets, especially
its major trading partners through the reduction of tariffs on its exports
particularly agricultural and industrial products. These concessions may be
availed of by the Philippines, only if it is a member of the World Trade
Organization. By GATT estimates, the Philippines can acquire additional
export revenues from $2.2 to $2.7 Billion annually under Uruguay Round. This
will be on top of the normal increase in exports that the Philippines may
experience.
The Final Act will also open up new opportunities for the services sector in
such areas as the movement of personnel, (e.g., professional services and
construction services), cross-border supply (e.g., computer-related services),
consumption abroad (e.g., tourism, convention services, etc.) and commercial
presence.
The clarified and improved rules and disciplines on anti-dumping and
countervailing measures will also benefit Philippine exporters by reducing the
costs and uncertainty associated with exporting while at the same time
providing a means for domestic industries to safeguard themselves against
unfair imports.
Likewise, the provision of adequate protection for intellectual property
rights is expected to attract more inves tments into the country and to make it
less vulnerable to unilateral actions by its trading partners (e.g., Sec. 301 of
the United States Omnibus Trade Law).
38

Taada vs. Angara
concurrence pursuant to Section 21, Article VII of the Constitution.

On August 13, 1994, the members of the Philippine 4 Senate
received another letter from the President of the Philippines
_______________
In view of the foregoing, the Uruguay Round Final Act is hereby submitted to the
Senate for its concurrence pursuant to Section 21, Article VI I of the Constitution.
A draft of a proposed Resolution giving its concurrence to the afores aid
Agreement is enclosed.
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
4
11 August 1994
The Honorable Members
Senate
Through Senate President Edgardo Angara
Manila
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I have the honor to forward herewith an authenticated copy of the Uruguay
Round Final Act signed by Department of Trade and Industry Secretary
Rizalino S. Navarro for the Philippines on 13 April 1994 in Marrakech (sic),
Morocco.
Members of the trade negotiations committee, which included the
Philippines, agreed that the Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization, the Ministerial Declarations and Decisions, and the
Understanding on Commitments in Financial Services embody the results of
their negotiations and form an integral part of the Uruguay Round Final Act.
By signing the Uruguay Round Final Act, the Philippines, through Secretary
Navarro, agreed:
(a) To submit the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization to

the Senate for its concurrence pursuant to Section 21, Article VII of the
Constitution; and
(b) To adopt the Ministerial Declarations and Decisions. The Uruguay
Round Final Act aims to liberalize and expand world trade and
strengthen the interrelationship between trade and economic policies
affecting growth and development.
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VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 39

Taada vs. Angara
likewise dated August 11, 1994, which stated among others that
the Uruguay Round Final Act, the Agreement Establishing the
World Trade Organization, the Ministerial Declarations and
Decisions, and the Understanding on Commitments in Financial
Services are hereby submitted to the Sen-
______________
The Final Act will improve Philippine access to foreign markets, especially its
major trading 0partners through the reduction of tariffs on its exports particularly
agricultural and industrial products. These concessions may be availed of by the
Philippines, only if it is a member of the World Trade Organization. By GATT
estimates, the Philippines can acquire additional export revenues from $2.2. to
$2.7 Billion annually under Uruguay Round. This will be on top of the normal
increase in the exports that the Philippines may experience.
The Final Act will also open up new opportunities for the services sector in such
areas as the movement of personnel, (e.g., professional services and construction
services), cross-border supply (e.g., computer-related services), consumption abroad
(e.g., tourism, convention services, etc.) and commercial presence.
The clarified and improved rules and disciplines on anti-dumping and
countervailing measures will also benefit Philippine exporters by reducing the
costs and uncertainty associated with exporting while at the same time providing a
means for domestic industries to safeguard themselves against unfair imports.
Likewise, the provision of adequate protection for intellectual property rights is
expected to attract more inves tments into the country and to make it less
vulnerable to unilateral actions by its trading partners (e.g., Sec. 301 of the United
States Omnibus Trade Law).
In view of the foregoing, the Uruguay Round Final Act, the Agreement
Establishing the World Trade Organization, the Ministerial Declarations and
Decisions, and the Understanding on Commitments in Financial Services, as
embodied in the Uruguay Round Final Act and forming an integral part thereof are
hereby submitted to the Senate for its concurrence pursuant to Section 21, Article
VII of the Constitution.
A draft of a proposed Resolution giving its concurrence to the aforesaid
Agreement is enclosed.
Very truly yours,
40

Taada vs. Angara
ate for its concurrence pursuant to Section 21, Article VII of the
Constitution.
On December 9, 1994, the President of the Philippines certified
the necessity of the immediate adoption of P.S. 1083, a resolution
entitled Concurring in the Ratification5 of the Agreement
Establishing the World Trade O rganization.
On December 14, 1994, the Philippine Senate adopted Resolution
No. 97 which Resolved, as it is hereby resolved, that the Senate
concur, as it hereby concurs, in the ratification by the President of
the Philippines6
of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization. The text of the WTO Agreement is written on pages
137 et seq. of Volume I of the 36-volume Uruguay Round of
Multilateral Trade Negotiations and includes various agreements
and associated legal
_______________
December 9, 1994
HON. EDGARDO J. ANGARA
Senate President
Senate, Manila
Dear Senate President Angara:
Pursuant to the provis ions of Sec. 26(2), Article VI of the Constitution, I
hereby certify to the necessity of the immediate adoption of P.S. 1083, entitled:
CONCURRING IN THE RATIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING

THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
to meet a public emergency consisting of the need for immediate

membership in the WTO in order to assure the benefits to the Philippine
economy arising from such membership.
Very truly yours,
6 Attached as Annex A; Petition; rollo, p. 52. P.S. 1083 is the forerunner of
assailed Senate Resolution No. 97. It was prepared by the Committee of the Whole
on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade chaired by Sen. Blas F. Ople and
co-chaired by Sen. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; see Annex C, Compliance of
petitioners dated January 28, 1997.
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VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 41

Taada vs. Angara
instruments (identified in the said Agreement as Annexes 1, 2 and
3 thereto and collectively referred to as Multilateral Trade
Agreements, for brevity) as follows:
ANNEX 1
Annex 1A: Multilateral Agreement on Trade in Goods

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994
Agreement on Agriculture
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Meas ures
Agreement on Textiles and Clothing
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures
Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the
Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the
Agreement on Pre-Shipment Inspection
Agreement on Rules of Origin
Agreement on Imports Licensing Procedures
Agreement on Subsidies and Coordinating Measures
Agreement on Safeguards
Annex 1B: General Agreement on Trade in Services and
Annexes
Annex 1C: Agreement on Trade-Related As pects of
Intellectual Property Rights
ANNEX 2
Understanding on Rules and Procedures

Governing the Settlement of Disputes
ANNEX 3
Trade Policy Review Mechanism

7
On December 16, 1994, the President of the Philippines signed the
Instrument of Ratification, declaring:
_______________
7 The Philippines is thus considered an original or founding member of WTO,
which as of July 26, 1996 had 123 members as follows: Antigua and Barbuda,
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belguim, Belize,
Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Camer
42

Taada vs. Angara
NOW THEREFORE, be it known that I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of

the Republic of the Philippines, after having seen and considered the
aforementioned Agreem ent Establishing the World Trade Organization
and the agreements and associated legal instruments included in Annexes
one (1), two (2) and three (3) of that Agreement which are integral parts
thereof, signed at Marrakesh, Morocco on 15 April 1994, do hereby ratify
and confirm the same and every Article and Clause thereof.
To emphasize, the WTO Agreement ratified by the President of the

Philippines is composed of the Agreement Proper and the
associated legal instruments included in Annexes one (1), two (2)
and three (3) of that Agreement which are integral parts thereof.
On the other hand, the Final Act signed by Secretary Navarro
embodies not only the WTO Agreement (and its integral annexes
aforementioned) but also (1) the Ministerial Declarations and
Decisions and (2) the Understanding on Commitments in Financial
Services. In his Memorandum
______________
oon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chili, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote
dIvoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, European Community, Fiji, Finland,
France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea
Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hongkong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Lesotho,
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives,
Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar,
Namibia, Netherlandsfor the Kingdom in Europe and for the Netherlands
Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea,
Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint
Kitts and Nevis , Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Senegal, Si erra
Leone, Si ngapore, Sl ovak Republ ic, Sl oveni a, Solomon Islands, South Africa,
Spain, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand,
Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates,
United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe. See
Annex A, Bautista Paper, infra.
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Taada vs. Angara
8
dated May 13, 1996, the Solicitor General describes these two
latter documents as follows:
The Ministerial Decisions and Declarations are twenty-five declarations
and decisions on a wide range of matters, such as measures in favor of
least developed countries, notification procedures, relationship of WTO
with the International Monetary Fund (I MF), and agreements on
technical barriers to trade and on dispute settlement.
The Understanding on Commitments in Financial Services dwell on,
among other things, standstill or limitations and qualifications of
commitments to existing non-conforming measures, market access,
national treatment, and definitions of non-resident supplier of financial
services, commercial presence and new financial service.
On December 29, 1994, the present petition was filed. After careful
deliberation on respondents comment and petitioners reply thereto,
the Court resolved on December 12, 1995, to give due course to the
petition, and the parties thereafter filed their respective
memoranda. The Court also requested the Honorable Lilia R.
Bautista, the Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations
stationed in Geneva, Switzerland,9 to submit a paper, hereafter
referred to as Bautista Paper, for brevity, (1) providing a
historical background of and (2) summarizing the said agreements.
During the Oral Argument held on August 27, 1996, the Court
directed:
(a) the petitioners to submit the (1) Senate Committee Report on the
matter in controversy and (2) the transcript of proceedings/hearings
in the Senate; and
(b) the Solicitor General, as cou n s el for res ponden ts , to file (1) a list
of Philippine treaties signed prior to the Philippine adher
______________
8 Page 6; rollo p. 261.

9 I n compliance, Ambassador Bautista submitted to the Court on August 12, 1996, a
Memorandum (the Bautista Paper) consisting of 56 pages excluding annexes. This is the
same document mentioned in footnote No. 1.
44

Taada vs. Angara
ence to the WTO Agreement, which derogate from Philippine
sovereignty and (2) copies of the multi-volume WTO Agreement and other
documents mentioned in the Final Act, as soon as possible.
After receipt of the foregoing documents, the Court said it would

consider the case subm itted for resolution. In a Compliance dated
September 16, 1996, the Solicitor General submitted a printed copy
of the 36-volume Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade
Negotiations, and in another Compliance dated October 24, 1996, he
listed the various bilateral or multilateral treaties or international
instruments involving derogation of Philippine sovereignty.
Petitioners, on the other hand, submitted their Compliance dated
January 28, 1997, on January 30, 1997.
The Issues
In their Memorandum dated March 11, 1996, petitioners

summarized the issues as follows:
A. Whether the petition presents a political question or is otherwise
not justiciable.
B. Whether the petitioner members of the Senate who participated in
the deliberations and voting leading to the concurrence are
estopped from impugning the validity of the Agreement
Establishing the World Trade Organization or of the validity of the
concurrence.
C. Whether the provisions of the Agreement Establishing the World
Trade Organization contravene the provisions of Sec. 19, Article II,
and Secs. 10 and 12, Article XII, all of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution.
D. Whether provisions of the Agreement Establis hing the World
Trade Organization unduly limit, res trict and impair Philippine
sovereignty specifically the legislative power which, under Sec. 2,
Article VI, 1987 Philippine Constitution is vested in the Congress
of the Philippines.
E. Whether provisions of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization interfere with the exercise of judicial power.
F. Whether the respondent members of the Senate acted in grave
abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction
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VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 45

Taada vs. Angara
when they voted for concurrence in the ratification of the

constitutionally-infirm Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization.
G. Whether the respondent members of the Senate acted in grave abuse
of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when they
concurred only in the ratification of the Agreement Establishing the World
Trade Organization, and not with the Presidential submission which
included the Final Act, Ministerial Declaration and Decisions, and the
Understanding on Commitments in Financial Services.
On the other hand, the Solicitor General as counsel for respondents

synthesized10
the several issues raised by petitioners into the
following:
1. Whether or not the provisions of the Agreement Establishing the
World Trade Organization and the Agreements and Associated
Legal Instruments included in Annexes one (1), two (2) and three
(3) of that agreement cited by petitioners directly contravene or
undermine the letter, spirit and intent of Section 19, Article II and
Sections 10 and 12, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution.
2. Whether or not certain provisions of the Agreement unduly limit,
restrict or impair the exercise of legislative power by Congress.
3. Whether or not certain provis ions of the Agreement impair the

exercise of judicial power by this Honorable Court in promulgating
the rules of evidence.
4. Whether or not the concurrence of the Senate in the ratification by
the President of the Philippines of the Agreement establishing the
W orld Trade Organization implied rejection of the treaty embodied
in the Final Act.
By raising and arguing only four issues against the seven presented
by petitioners, the Solicitor General has effectively ignored three,
namely: (1) whether the petition presents a political question or is
otherwise not justiciable; (2) whether petitioner-members of the
Senate (Wigberto E. Taada and Anna Dominique Coseteng) are
estopped from joining this
_______________
10 Memorandum for Respondents, p. 13; rollo, p. 268.

46

Taada vs. Angara
suit; and (3) whether the respondent-members of the Senate acted

in grave abuse of discretion when they voted for concurrence in the
ratification of the WTO Agreement. The foregoing notwithstanding,
this Court resolved to deal with these three issues thus:
(1) The political question issuebeing very fundamental and

vital, and being a matter that probes into the very
jurisdiction of this Court to hear and decide this casewas
deliberated upon by the Court and will thus be ruled upon
as the first issue;
(2) The matter of estoppel will not be taken up because this
defense is waivable and the respondents have effectively
waived it by not pursuing it in any of their pleadings; in any
event, this issue, even if ruled in respondents favor, will not
cause the petitions dismissal as there are petitioners other
than the two senators, who are not vulnerable to the defense
of estoppel; and
(3) The issue of alleged grave abuse of discretion on the part of
the respondent senators will be taken up as an integral part
of the disposition of the four issues raised by the Solicitor
General.
During its deliberations on the case, the Court noted that the
respondents did not question the locus standi of petitioners. Hence,
they are also deemed to have waived the benefit of such issue. They
probably realized that grave constitutional issues, expenditures of
public funds and serious international commitments of the nation
are involved here, and that transcendental public interest requires
that the substantive issues be met head on and decided on 11
the
merits, rather than skirted or deflected by procedural matters.
To recapitulate, the issues that will be ruled upon shortly are:
______________
11 Cf. Kilosbayan, Incorporated vs. Morato, 246 SCRA 540, July 17, 1995 for a
discussion on locus standi. See also the Concurring Opinion of Mr. Justice Vicente
V. Mendoza in Tatad vs. Garcia, Jr., 243 SCRA 473, April 6, 1995, as well as
Kilusang Mayo Uno Labor Center vs. Garcia, Jr., 239 SCRA 386, 414, December 23,
1994.
47
VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 47

Taada vs. Angara
(1) DOES THE PETITION PRESENT A JUSTICIABLE

CONTROVERSY? OTHERWISE STATED, DOES THE PETITION
INVOLVE A POLITI CAL QUESTION OVER WHICH THIS
COURT HAS NO JURISDICTION?
(2) DO THE PROVI SI ONS OF THE WTO AGREEM ENT AND ITS
THREE ANNEXES CONTRAVENE SEC. 19, ARTICLE II, AND
SECS. 10 AND 12, ARTICLE XII, OF THE PHILIPPINE
CONSTITUTION?
(3) DO THE PROVISIONS OF SAID AGREEMENT AND ITS
ANNEXES LIMIT, RESTRICT, OR IMPAIR THE EXERCISE OF
LEGISLATIVE POWER BY CONGRESS?
(4) DO SAID PROVISIONS UNDULY IMPAIR OR INTERFERE
WITH THE EXERCISE OF JUDICIAL POWER BY THIS COURT
IN PROMULGATING RULES ON EVIDENCE?
(5) WAS THE CONCURRENCE OF THE SENATE IN THE WTO
AGREEMENT AND ITS ANNEXES SUFFICIENT AND/OR
VALID, CONSIDERING THAT I T DID NOT INCLUDE THE FI
NAL ACT, MINISTERIAL DECLARATIONS AND DECISIONS,
AND THE UNDERSTANDING ON COMMITMENTS IN
FINANCIAL SERVICES?
The First Issue: Does the Court

Have Jurisdiction Over the Controversy?
In seeking to nullify an act of the Philippine Senate on the ground

that it contravenes the Constitution, the petition no doubt raises a
justiciable controversy. Where an action of the legislative branch is
seriously alleged to have infringed the Constitution, it becomes not
only the right but in fact the duty of the judiciary to settle the
dispute. The question thus posed is judicial rather than political.
The duty (to adjudicate) remains12
to assure that the supremacy of
the Constitution is upheld. Once a controversy as to the
application or interpretation of a constitutional provision is raised
before this
_______________
12 Aquino, Jr. vs. Ponce Enrile, 59 SCRA 183, 196, September 17, 1974, cited in
Bondoc vs. Pineda, 201 SCRA 792, 795, September 26, 1991.
48

Taada vs. Angara
Court (as in the instant case), it becomes a legal issue

13
which the
Court is bound by constitutional mandate to decide. 14
The jurisdiction of this Court to adjudicate the matters
15
raised in
the petition is clearly set out in the 1987 Constitution, as follow s:
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and
enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse
of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any
branch or instrumentality of the government.
The foregoing text emphasizes the judicial departments duty and

power to strike down grave abuse of discretion on the part of any
branch or instrumentality of government
16
including Congress. It is
an innovation in our political17
law. As explained by former Chief
Justice Roberto Concepcion, the judiciary is the final arbiter on
the question of whether or not a branch of government or any of its
officials has acted without jurisdiction or in excess of jurisdiction or
so capriciously as to constitute an abuse of discretion amounting to

excess of jurisdiction. This is not only a judicial pow er but a duty to
pass judgment on matters of this nature.
As 18this Court has repeatedly and firmly emphasized in many
cases, it w ill not shirk, digress from or abandon its sacred duty
and authority to uphold the Constitution in matters that involve
grave abuse of discretion brought before it in
________________
13 Guingona, Jr. vs. Gonzales, 219 SCRA 326, 337, March 1, 1993.
14 See Tanada and Macapagal vs. Cuenco, et al., 103 Phil. 1051 for a discussion
on the scope of political question.
15 Section 1, Article VIII, (par. 2).
16 In a privilege speech on May 17, 1993, entitled Supreme CourtPotential
Tyrant? Senator Arturo Tolentino concedes that this new provision gives the
Supreme Court a duty to intrude into the jurisdiction of the Congress or the
President.
17 I Record of the Constitutional Commission 436.
18 Cf. Daza vs. Singson, 180 SCRA 496, December 21, 1989.
49
VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 49

Taada vs. Angara
appropriate cases, committed by any officer, agency, instrumentality

or department of the government.
As the petition alleges grave abuse of discretion and as there is
no other plain, speedy or adequate remedy in the ordinary course of
law, we have no hesitation at all in holding that this petition should
be given due course and the vital questions raised therein ruled
upon under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court. Indeed, certiorari,
prohibition and mandamus are appropriate remedies to raise
constitutional issues and to review and/or prohibit/nullify, w hen
proper, acts of legislative and executive officials. On this, we have
no equivocation.
We should stress that, in deciding to take jurisdiction over this
petition, this Court w ill not review the wisdom of the decision of
the President and the Senate in enlisting the country into the WTO,
or pass upon the merits of trade liberalization as a policy espoused
by said international body. Neither will it rule on the propriety of
the governments economic policy of reducing/removing tariffs,
taxes, subsidies, quantitative restrictions, and other import/trade
barriers. Rather, it will only exercise its constitutional duty to
determine whether or not there had been a grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
the Senate in ratifying the WTO Agreement and its three annexes.
Second Issue: The WTO Agreement

and Economic Nationalism
This is the lis mota, the main issue, raised by the petition.
Petitioners vigorously argue that the letter, spirit and intent of
the Constitution mandating economic nationalism are violated by
the so-called parity provisions and national treatment clauses
scattered in various parts not only of the WTO Agreement and its
annexes but also in the Ministerial Decisions and Declarations and
in the Understanding on Commitments in Financial Services.
Specifically, the flagship constitutional provisions referred to
are Sec. 19, Article II, and Secs. 10 and 12, Article XII, of the
Constitution, which are worded as follows:
50
Taada vs. Angara
Article II
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES
AND STATE POLICI ES
xx xx xx xx
Sec. 19. The State shall develop a self-reliant and independent national
economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.
xx xx xx xx
Article XII
NATIONAL ECONOM Y AND PATRIMONY
xx xx xx xx
Sec. 10. x x x. The Congress shall enact measures that will encourage
the formation and operation of enterprises whose capital is wholly owned
by Filipinos.
In the grant of rights, privileges, and concessions covering the national
economy and patrimony, the State shall give preference to qualified
Filipinos.
xx xx xx xx
Sec. 12. The State shall promote the preferential use of Filipino labor,
domestic materials and locally produced goods, and adopt measures that
help make them competitive.
Petitioners aver that these sacred constitutional principles are

desecrated by19 the following WTO provisions quoted in their
memorandum:
a) In the area of investment measures related to trade in goods (TRIMS,
for brevity):
Article 2
National Treatment and Quantitative Restrictions.
1. Without prejudice to other rights and obligations under GATT 1994, no

Member shall apply any TRIM that is inconsistent with the provisions of
Article III or Article XI of GATT 1994.
2. An Illustrative list of TRIMS that are inconsistent with the obligations of
general elimination of quantitative re
_______________
19 Memorandum for Petitioners, pp. 14-16; rollo, pp. 204-206.

51
VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 51

Taada vs. Angara
strictions provided for in paragraph I of Article XI of GATT 1994 is

contained in the Annex to this Agreement. (Agreement on Trade-Related
Investment Measures, Vol. 27, Uru-guay Round, Legal Instruments, p.
22121, emphasis supplied). The Annex referred to reads as follows:
ANNEX
Illustrative List
1. TRIMS that are inconsistent with the obligation of national

treatment provided for in paragraph 4 of Article III of GATT 1994 include
those which are mandatory or enforceable under domestic law or under
administrative rulings, or compliance with which is necessary to obtain an
advantage, and which require:
(a) the purchase or use by an enterprise of products of domestic origin or from

any domestic source, whether specified in terms of particular products, in
terms of volume or value of products, or in terms of proportion of volume or
value of its local production; or
(b) that an enterprises purchases or use of im-ported products be limited to an
amount related to the volume or value of local products that it exports.
2. TRIMS that are inconsistent with the obligations of general

elimination of quantitative restrictions provided for in paragraph 1 of
Article XI of GATT 1994 include those which are mandatory or enforceable
under domestic laws or under administrative rulings, or compliance with
which is necessary to obtain an advantage, and which restrict:
(a) the importation by an enterprise of products used in or related to the local

production that it exports;
(b) the importation by an enterprise of products used in or related to its local
production by restricting its access to foreign exchange inflows attributable
to the enterprise; or
(c) the exportation or sale for export specified in terms of particular products,
in terms of volume or value of products, or in terms of a preparation of
volume or value of its local production. (Annex to the Agreement on Trade-
Related Investment Measures, Vol. 27, Uru-
52

Taada vs. Angara
guay Round Legal Documents, p. 22125, emphasis supplied).
The paragraph 4 of Article III of GATT 1994 referred to is quoted as

follows:
The products of the territory of any contracting party imported into the territory of
any other contracting party shall be accorded treatment no less favourable than
that accorded to like products of national origin in respect of laws, regulations and
requirements affecting their internal sale, offering for sale, purchase,
transportation, distribution or use. The provisions of this paragraph shall not
prevent the application of differential internal transportation charges which are
based exclusively on the economic operation of the means of transport and not on
the nationality of the product. (Article III , GATT 1947, as amended by the
Protocol Modifying Part II, and Article XXVI of GATT, 14 September 1948, 62
UMTS 82-84 in relation to paragraph 1(a) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade 1994, Vol. 1, Uruguay Round, Legal Instruments, p. 177, emphasis supplied).
b) In the area of trade related aspects of intellectual property rights

(TRIPS, for brevity):
Each Mem ber shall accord to the nationals of other Members treatment no less
favourable than what it accords to its own nationals with regard to the protection
of intellectual property . . . (par. 1, Article 3, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of
Intellectual Property Rights, Vol. 31, Uruguay Round, Legal Instruments, p.
25432, emphasis supplied).
(c) In the area of the General Agreement on Trade in Services:
National Treatment
1. In the sectors inscribed in its schedule, and subject to any conditions and
qualifications set out therein, each Member shall accord to services and service
suppliers of any other Member, in res pect of all measures affecting the supply of
services, treatment no less favourable than it accords to its own like services and
service suppliers.
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VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 53

Taada vs. Angara
2. A Member may meet the requirement of paragraph I by according to

services and service suppliers of any other Member, either formally
identical treatment or formally different treatment to that it accords to its
own like services and service suppliers.
3. Formally identical or formally different treatment shall be considered to be

less favourable if it modifies the conditions of completion in favour of
services or service suppliers of the Member compared to like s ervices or
service suppliers of any other Member. (Article XVII, General Agreement on
Trade in Services, Vol. 28, Uruguay Round, Legal Instruments, p. 22610
emphasis supplied).
It is petitioners position that the foregoing national treatment

and parity provisions of the WTO Agreement place nationals and
products of member countries on the same footing as Filipinos and
local products, in contravention of the Filipino First policy of the
Constitution. They allegedly render meaningless the phrase
effectively controlled by Filipinos. The constitutional conflict
becomes more manifest when viewed in the context of the clear duty
imposed on the Philippines as a WTO member to ensure the
conformity of its laws, regulations and administrative procedures20
with its obligations as provided in the annexed agreements.
Petitioners further argue that these provisions contravene
constitutional limitations on the role exports play in national
development and negate the preferential treatment accorded to
Filipino labor, domestic materials and locally produced goods.
On the other hand, respondents through the Solicitor General
counter (1) that such Charter provisions are not self-executing and
m erely set out general policies; (2) that these nationalistic portions
of the Constitution invoked by petitioners should not be read in
isolation but should be related to other relevant provisions of Art.
XII, particularly Secs. 1 and 13 thereof; (3) that read properly, the
cited WTO clauses do not conflict with the Constitution; and (4)
that the WTO
_______________
20 Par. 4, Article XVI, WTO Agreement, Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade
Negotiations, Vol. 1, p. 146.

54

Taada vs. Angara
Agreement contains sufficient provisions to protect developing

countries like the Philippines from the harshness of sudden trade
liberalization.
We shall now discuss and rule on these arguments.
Declaration of Principles Not Self-Executing

By its very title, Article II of the Constitution is a declaration of
principles and state21
policies. The counterpart of this article in the
1935 Constitution is called 22
the basic political creed of the nation
by Dean Vicente Sinco. These principles in Article II are not
intended to be self-executing
23
principles ready for enforcement
through the courts. They are used by the judiciary as aids or as
guides in the exercise of its pow er of judicial review, and by the
legislature in its enactment of laws. As24 held in the leading case of
Kilosbayan, Incorporated vs. Morato, the principles and state
policies enumerated in Article II and some sections of Article XII
are not self-executing provisions, the disregard of which can give
rise to a cause of action in the courts. They do not embody judicially
enforceable constitutional rights but guidelines for legislation.
25
In the same light, we held in Basco vs. Pagcor that broad
constitutional principles need legislative enactments to implement
them, thus:
_______________
21 Also entitled Declaration of Principles . The nomenclature in the 1973
Charter is identical with that in the 1987s.
22 Philippine Political Law, 1962 Ed., p. 116.

23 Bernas, The Constitution of the Philippines: A Comm entary, Vol. II, 1988 Ed.,
p. 2. In the very recent case of Manila Prince Hotel vs. GSIS, G.R. No. 122156,
February 3, 1997, p. 8, it was held that A provision which lays down a general
principle, such as those found in Art. II of the 1987 Constitution, is usually not
self-executing.
24 246 SCRA 540, 564, July 17, 1995. See also Tolentino vs. Secretary of Finance,
G.R. No. 115455 and consolidated cases, August 25, 1995.

25 197 SCRA 52, 68, May 14, 1991.
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VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 55

Taada vs. Angara
On petitioners allegation that P.D. 1869 violates Sections 11 (Personal

Dignity) 12 (Family) and 13 (Role of Youth) of Article II; Section 13 (Social
Justice) of Article XIII and Section 2 (Educational Values) of Article XIV of
the 1987 Constitution, suffice it to state also that these are merely
statements of principles and policies. As such, they are basically not self-
executing, meaning a law should be passed by Congress to clearly define
and effectuate such principles.
In general, therefore, the 1935 provisions were not intended to be self-executing

principles ready for enforcement through the courts. They were rather directives
addressed to the executive and to the legislature. If the executive and the
legislature failed to heed the directives of the article, the available rem edy was not
judicial but political. The electorate could express their displeasure with the failure
of the executive and the legislature through the language of the ballot. (Bernas,
Vol. II, p. 2).
The reasons for denying a cause of action to an alleged infringement

of broad constitutional principles are sourced from basic
considerations of due process and the lack of judicial authority to
wade into the uncharted ocean of social and economic policy
making. Mr. Justice Florentino P.26 Feliciano in his concurring
opinion in Oposa vs. Factoran, Jr., explained these reasons as
follow s:
My s uggestion is simply that petitioners must, before the trial court,
show a more specific legal righta right cast in language of a significantly
lower order of generality than Article II (15) of the Constitutionthat is or
may be violated by the actions, or failures to act, imputed to the public res
pondent by petitioners so that the trial court can validly render judgment
granting all or part of the relief prayed for. To my mind, the court should
be understood as simply saying that such a more specific legal right or
rights may well exist in our corpus of law, considering the general policy
principles found in the Constitution and the existence of the Philippine
Environment Code, and that the trial court should have given petitioners
an effective opportunity so to demonstrate, instead of aborting the
proceedings on a motion to dismiss.
_______________
26 224 SCRA 792, 817, July 30, 1993.

56

Taada vs. Angara
It seems to me important that the legal right which is an essential

component of a cause of action be a specific, operable legal right, rather
than a constitutional or statutory policy, for at least two (2) reasons. One is
that unless the legal right claimed to have been violated or disregarded is
given specification in operational terms, defendants may well be unable to
defend themselves intelligently and effectively; in other words, there are
due process dimensions to this matter.
The second is a broader-gauge considerationwhere a specific violation
of law or applicable regulation is not alleged or proved, petitioners can be
expected to fall back on the expanded conception of judicial power in the
second paragraph of Section 1 of Article VIII of the Constitution which
reads:
Section 1. x x x
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and
to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting
to lack or excess of juris diction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the
Government. (Emphases supplied)
When substantive standards as general as the right to a balanced and

healthy ecology and the right to health are combined with remedial
standards as broad ranging as a grave abuse of discretion amounting to
lack or excess of jurisdiction, the result will be, it is respectfully
submitted, to propel courts into the uncharted ocean of social and
economic policy making. At leas t in respect of the vast area of
environmental protection and management, our courts have no claim to
special technical competence and experience and professional
qualification. Where no specific, operable norms and standards are shown
to exis t, then the policy making departmentsthe legislative and
executive departmentsmust be given a real and effective opportunity to
fashion and promulgate those norms and standards, and to implement
them before the courts should intervene.
Economic Nationalism Should Be Read with

Other Constitutional Mandates to Attain
Balanced Development of Economy
On the other hand, Secs. 10 and 12 of Article XII, apart from merely
laying down general principles relating to the
57
VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 57

Taada vs. Angara
national economy and patrimony, should be read and understood in

relation to the other sections in said article, especially Secs. 1 and
13 thereof which read:
Section 1. The goals of the national economy are a more equitable
distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth; a sustained increase in
the amount of goods and services produced by the nation for the benefit of
the people; and an expanding productivity as the key to raising the quality
of life for all, especially the underprivileged.
The State shall promote indus trialization and full employment based
on sound agricultural development and agrarian reform, through
industries that make full and efficient use of human and natural
resources, and which are competitive in both domestic and foreign
markets. However, the State shall protect Filipino enterprises against
unfair foreign competition and trade practices.
In the pursuit of these goals, all sectors of the economy and all regions
of the country shall be given optimum opportunity to develop. x x x
xxx xxx xxx
Sec. 13. The State shall pursue a trade policy that serves the general
welfare and utilizes all forms and arrangements of exchange on the basis
of equality and reciprocity.
As pointed out by the Solicitor General, Sec. 1 lays down the basic
goals of national economic development, as follows:
1. A more equitable distribution of opportunities, income and

wealth;
2. A sustained increase in the amount of goods and services
provided by the nation for the benefit of the people; and
3. An expanding productivity as the key to raising the quality

of life for all especially the underprivileged.
With these goals in context, the Constitution then ordains the

ideals of economic nationalism (1) by expressing preference in favor
of qualified Filipinos in the grant of rights, privileges 27
and
concessions covering the national economy and patrimony and in
the use of Filipino labor, domestic mate-
_______________
27 Sec. 10, Article XI I.

58

Taada vs. Angara
rials and locally-produced goods; (2) by mandating 28the State to

adopt measures that help make them competitive ; and (3) by
requiring the State to develop a self-reliant and 29independent
national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos. In similar
language, the Constitution takes into account the realities of the
outside world as it requires the pursuit of a trade policy that serves
the general welfare and utilizes all forms and arrangements
30
of
exchange on the basis of equality and reciprocity ; and speaks of
industries which are competitive in both dom estic and foreign
markets as w ell as of the protection of Filipino enterprises
against unfair foreign competition and trade practices.
It is true that in the recent case of Manila 31
Prince Hotel vs.
Government Service Insurance System, et al., this Court held that
Sec. 10, second par., Art. XII of the 1987 Constitution is a
mandatory, positive command which is complete in itself and which
needs no further guidelines or implementing laws or rules for its
enforcement. From its very words the provision does not require
any legislation to put it in operation. It is per se judicially
enforceable. However, as the constitutional provision itself states,
it is enforceable only in regard to the grants of rights, privileges
and concessions covering national economy and patrimony and not
to every aspect of trade and commerce. It refers to exceptions rather
than the rule. The issue here is not whether this paragraph of Sec.
10 of Art. XII is self-executing or not. Rather, the issue is whether,
as a rule, there are enough balancing provisions in the Constitution
to allow the Senate to ratify the Philippine concurrence in the WTO
Agreement. And we hold that there are.
All told, while the Constitution indeed mandates a bias in favor
of Filipino goods, services, labor and enterprises, at the same tim e,
it recognizes the need for business exchange with the rest of the
world on the bases of equality and reciprocity
_______________
28 Sec. 12, Article XI I.

29 Sec. 19, Art. I I.
30 Sec. 13, Art. XII.
31 G.R. No. 122156, February 3, 1997, pp.13-14.

59
VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 59

Taada vs. Angara
and limits protection of Filipino enterprises only

32
against foreign
competition and trade practices that are unfair. In other words,
the Constitution did not intend to pursue an isolationist policy. It
did not shut out foreign investments, goods and services in the
development of the Philippine economy. While the Constitution does

not encourage the unlimited entry of foreign goods, services and
investments into the country, it does not prohibit them either. In
fact, it allows an exchange on the basis of equality and reciprocity,
frowning only on foreign competition that is unfair.
WTO Recognizes Need to

Protect Weak Economies
Upon the other hand, respondents maintain that the WTO itself has
some built-in advantages to protect weak and developing
economies, which comprise the vast majority of its members. Unlike
in the UN where major states have permanent seats and veto pow
ers in the Security Council, in the WTO, decisions are made on the
basis of sovereign equality, with each members vote equal in weight
to that of any other. There is no WTO equivalent of the UN Security
Council.
WTO decides by consensus whenever possible, otherwise, decisions of the
Ministerial Conference and the General Council shall be taken by the
majority of the votes cast, except in cases of interpretation of the
Agreement or waiver of the obligation of a member which would require
three fourths vote. Amendments would require two thirds vote in general.
Amendments to MFN provisions and the Amendments provision will
require assent of all members. Any member may withdraw from the
Agreement upon the expiration of six months from the date of notice of
33
withdrawals.
Hence, poor countries can protect their common interests more

effectively through the WTO than through one-on-one negotiations
with developed countries. Within the WTO, developing countries
can form powerful blocs to push their eco-
______________
32 Sec. 1, Art. XII.

33 Bautista Paper, p. 19.
60

Taada vs. Angara
nomic agenda more decisively than outside the Organization. This

is not merely a matter of practical alliances but a negotiating
strategy rooted in law. Thus, the basic principles underlying the
WTO Agreement recognize the need of developing countries like the
Philippines to share in the growth in international trade
commensurate with the needs of their economic
34
development. These
basic principles are found in the preamble of the WTO Agreements
as follows:
The Parties to this Agreement,
Recognizing that their relations in the field of trade and economic
endeavour should be conducted with a view to raising standards of living,
ensuring full employment and a large and steadily growing volume of real
income and effective demand, and expanding the production of and trade
in goods and services, while allowing for the optimal use of the worlds
resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable development,
seeking both to protect and preserve the environment and to enhance the
means for doing so in a manner consistent with their respective needs and
concerns at different levels of economic development,
Recognizing further that there is need for positive efforts designed to
ensure that developing countries, and especially the least developed
among them, secure a share in the growth in international trade
commensurate with the needs of their economic developm ent,
Being des irous of contributing to these objectives by entering into
reciprocal and mutually advantageous arrangements directed to the
substantial reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade and to the
elimination of discriminatory treatment in international trade relations,
Resolved, therefore, to develop an integrated, more viable and durable
multilateral trading system encompassing the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade, the results of pas t trade liberalization efforts, and all of
the results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations,
Determined to preserve the basic principles and to further the objectives
underlying this multilateral trading system, x x x. (italics supplied.)
_______________
34 Preamble, WTO Agreement p. 137, Vol. 1, Uruguay Round of Multilateral
Trade Negotiations. Italics supplied.

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VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 61

Taada vs. Angara
Specific WTO Provisos

Protect Developing Countries
So too, the Solicitor General points out that pursuant to and
consistent with the foregoing basic principles, the WTO Agreement
grants developing countries a more lenient treatment, giving their
domestic industries some protection from the rush of foreign
competition. Thus, with respect to tariffs in general, preferential
treatment is given to developing countries in terms of the amount of
tariff reduction and the period within which the reduction is to be
spread out. Specifically, GATT requires an average tariff reduction
rate of 36% for developed countries to be effected within a period of
six (6) years while developing countriesincluding the Philippines
are required to effect an average tariff reduction of only 24%
within ten (10) years.
In respect to domestic subsidy, GATT requires developed
countries to reduce domestic support to agricultural products by
20% over six (6) years, as compared to only 13% for developing
countries to be effected within ten (10) years.
In regard to export subsidy for agricultural products, GATT
requires developed countries to reduce their budgetary outlays for
export subsidy by 36% and export volumes receiving export subsidy
by 21% within a period of six (6) years. For developing countries,
however, the reduction rate is only two-thirds of that prescribed for
developed countries and a longer period of ten (10) years within
which to effect such reduction.
Moreover, GATT itself has p rov id ed bu il t-in protection from
unfair foreign competition and trade practices including anti-
dumping measures, countervailing measures and safeguards
against import surges. Where local businesses are jeopardized by
unfair foreign competition, the Philippines can avail of these
measures. There is hardly therefore any basis for the statement
that under the WTO , local industries and enterprises will all be w
iped out and that Filipinos w ill be deprived of control of the
economy. Quite the contrary, the weaker situations of developing
nations like the Philippines have been taken into account; thus,
there would be no basis to
62

Taada vs. Angara
say that in joining the WTO, the respondents have gravely abused
their discretion. True, they have made a bold decision to steer the
ship of state into the yet uncharted sea of economic liberalization.
But such decision cannot be set aside on the ground of grave abuse
of discretion, simply because we disagree with it or simply because
we believe only in other economic policies. As earlier stated, the
Court in taking jurisdiction of this case will not pass upon the
advantages and disadvantages of trade liberalization as an
economic policy. It will only perform its constitutional duty of
determining whether the Senate committed grave abuse of
discretion.
Constitution Does Not

Rule Out Foreign Competition
Furthermore, the constitutional 35
policy of a self-reliant and
independent national economy does not necessarily rule out the
entry of foreign investments, goods and services. It contemplates
neither economic seclusion nor mendicancy in the international
community. As explained by Constitutional Comm issioner
Bernardo Villegas, sponsor of this constitutional policy:
Economic self-reliance is a primary objective of a developing country that
is keenly aware of overdependence on external assistance for even its most
basic needs. It does not mean autarky or economic seclusion; rather, it
means avoiding mendicancy in the international community. Independence
refers to the freedom from undue foreign control of the national economy,
especially in such strategic industries as in the development of natural
36
resources and public utilities.
The WTO reliance on most favored nation, national treatment,

and trade without discrimination cannot be struck down as
unconstitutional as in fact they are rules of equality and reciprocity
that apply to all WTO members. Aside from envisioning a trade
policy based on equality and
_______________
35 Sec. 19, Article II, Constitution.

36 II I Records of the Constitutional Commission 252.
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Taada vs. Angara
37
reciprocity, the fundamental law encourages industries that are
competitive in both domestic and foreign markets, thereby
demonstrating a clear policy against a sheltered domestic trade
environment, but one in favor of the gradual development of robust
industries that can compete with the best in the foreign markets.
Indeed, Filipino managers and Filipino enterprises have shown
capability and tenacity to compete internationally. And given a free
trade environment, Filipino entrepreneurs and managers in
Hongkong have demonstrated the Filipino capacity to grow and to
prosper against the best offered under a policy of laissez faire.
Constitution Favors Consumers,

Not Industries or Enterprises
The Constitution has not really shown any unbalanced bias in favor
of any business or enterprise, nor does it contain any specific
pronouncement that Filipino companies should be pampered with a
total proscription of foreign competition. On the other hand,
respondents claim that WTO/GATT aims to make available to the
Filipino consumer the best goods and services obtainable anywhere
in the world at the most reasonable prices. Consequently, the
question boils down to whether WTO/GATT will favor the general
welfare of the public at large.
Will adherence to the WTO treaty bring this ideal (of favoring
the general welfare) to reality?
Will WTO/GATT succeed in promoting the Filipinos general
welfare because it willas promised by its promotersexpand the
countrys exports and generate more employment?
Will it bring more prosperity, employment, purchasing power and

quality products at the most reasonable rates to the Filipino public?
The responses to these questions involve judgment calls by our
policy makers, for which they are answerable to our people during
appropriate electoral exercises. Such questions
______________
37 Sec. 13, Article XI I, Constitution.

64

Taada vs. Angara
and the answers thereto are not subject to judicial pronouncements

based on grave abuse of discretion.
Constitution Designed to Meet

Future Events and Contingencies
No doubt, the WTO Agreement was not yet in existence when the
Constitution w as drafted and ratified in 1987. That does not mean
however that the Charter is necessarily flawed in the sense that its
framers might not have anticipated the advent of a borderless world
of business. By the same token, the United Nations was not yet in
existence when the 1935 Constitution became effective. Did that
necessarily mean that the then Constitution might not have
contemplated a diminution of the absoluteness of sovereignty when
the Philippines signed the UN Charter, thereby effectively
surrendering part of its control over its foreign relations to the
decisions of various UN organs like the Security Council?
It is not difficult to answer this question. Constitutions are
designed to meet not only the vagaries of contemporary events.
They should be interpreted to cover even future and unknown
circumstances. It is to the credit of its drafters that a Constitution
can withstand the assaults of bigots and infidels but at the same
time bend with the refreshing winds of change necessitated by
unfolding
38
events. As one eminent political law writer and respected
jurist explains:
The Constitution must be quintessential rather than superficial, the root
and not the blossom, the base and framework only of the edifice that is yet
to rise. It is but the core of the dream that must take shape, not in a
twinkling by mandate of our delegates, but s lowly in the crucible of
Filipino minds and hearts, where it will in time develop its sinews and
gradually gather its strength and finally achieve its substance. In fine, the
Constitution cannot, like the goddess Athena, rise full-grown from the
brow of the Constitu-
______________
38 Justice Isagani A. Cruz, Philippine Political Law, 1995 Ed., p. 13, quoting his own
article entitled, A Quintessential Constitution earlier published in the San Beda Law
Journal, April 1972; Italics supplied.
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Taada vs. Angara
tional Convention, nor can it conjure by mere fiat an ins tant Utopia. It
must grow with the society it seeks to re-structure and march apace with
the progress of the race, drawing from the vicissitudes of history the
dynamism and vitality that will keep it, far from becoming a petrified rule,
a pulsing, living law attuned to the heartbeat of the nation.
Third Issue: The WTO Agreement and Legislative Power
The WTO Agreement provides that (e)ach Member shall ensure the
conformity of its laws, regulations and administrative procedures39
with its obligations as provided in the annexed Agreements.
Petitioner s maintain that this undertaking unduly limits, restricts
and impairs Philippine sovereignty, specifically the legislative
power which under Sec. 2, Article VI of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution is vested in the Congress of the Philippines. It is an
assault on the sovereign powers of the Philippines because this
means that Congress could not pass legislation that will be good for
our national interest and general welfare if such legislation will not
conform with the WTO Agreement, which not only relates to the
trade in goods x x x but also to the flow of investments and money x
x x as well as40 to a whole slew of agreements on socio-cultural
matters x x x .
More specifically, petitioners claim that said WTO proviso41
derogates from the power to tax, which is lodged in the Congress.
And while the Constitution allows Congress to authorize the
President to fix tariff rates, import and export quotas, tonnage and
wharfage dues, and other duties or imposts, such authority is
subject to specified limits and x 42x x such limitations and
restrictions as Congress may provide, as in fact it did under Sec.
401 of the Tariff and Customs Code.
_______________
39 Par. 4, Article XVI (M iscellaneous Provisions), WTO Agreement, p. 146, Vol.
1, Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations.

40 Memorandum for the Petitioners, p. 29; rollo, p. 219.
41 Sec. 24, Article VI, Constitution.
42 Subsection (2), Sec. 28, Article VI, Constitution.

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Taada vs. Angara
Sovereignty Limited by
International Law and Treaties
This Court notes and appreciates the ferocity and passion by which
petitioners stressed their arguments on this issue. However, while
sovereignty has traditionally been deemed absolute and all-
encompassing on the domestic level, it is however subject to
restrictions and limitations voluntarily agreed to by the
Philippines, expressly or impliedly, as a member of the family of
nations. Unquestionably, the Constitution did not envision a
hermit-type isolation of the country from the rest of the world. In its
Declaration of Principles and State Policies, the Constitution
adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as
part of the law of the land, and adheres to the policy of peace,
equality, 43 justice, freedom, cooperation and am ity, w ith all
nations. By the doctrine of incorporation, the country is bound by
generally accepted principles of international law,44 which are
considered to be automatically part of our own laws. One of the
oldest and most fundamental rules in international law is pacta
sunt servandainternational agreements must be performed in
good faith. A treaty engagement is not a mere moral obligation but
creates a legally binding obligation on the parties x x x. A state
which has contracted valid international obligations is bound to
make in its legislations such modifications as may be 45
necessary to
ensure the fulfillment of the obligations undertaken.
By their inherent nature, treaties really limit or restrict the
absoluteness of sovereignty. By their voluntary act, nations may
surrender some aspects of their state power in exchange for greater
benefits granted by or derived from a convention or pact. After all,
states, like individuals, live w ith coequals, and in pursuit of
mutually covenanted objectives and benefits, they also commonly
agree to limit the exercise of their other-
______________
43 Sec. 2, Article II, Cons titution.

44 Cruz, Philippine Political Law, 1995 Ed., p. 55.
45 Salonga and Yap, op cit., 305.
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wise absolute rights. Thus, treaties have been used to record

agreements between States concerning such widely diverse matters
as, for example, the lease of naval bases, the sale or cession of
territory, the termination of war, the regulation of conduct of
hostilities, the formation of alliances, the regulation of commercial
relations, the settling of claims, the laying down of rules governing
conduct in 46peace and the establishment of international
organizations. The sovereignty of a state therefore cannot in fact
and in reality be considered absolute. Certain restrictions enter into
the picture: (1) limitations imposed by the very nature of
membership in the family of nations and (2) limitations imposed by
treaty stipulations. As aptly put by John F. Kennedy, Today, no
nation can build its destiny alone. The age of self-sufficient
47
nationalism is over. The age of interdependence is here.
UN Charter and Other Treaties

Limit Sovereignty
Thus, when the Philippines joined the United Nations as one of its
51 charter members, it consented to restrict its sovereign 47a
rights
under the concept of sovereignty as autolimitation. Under
Article 2 of the UN Charter, (a)ll members shall give the United
Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance w ith
the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any
state against which the United Nations is taking preventive or
enforcement action. Such assistance includes payment of its
corresponding share not merely in administrative expenses but also
in expenditures for the peace-keeping operations of the
organization. In its advisory opinion of July 20, 1961, the
International Court of Justice held that money used by the United
Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East and in the Congo were
______________
46 Salonga, op cit., p. 287.

47 Quoted in Paras and Paras, Jr., International Law and World Politics, 1994
Ed., p. 178.
47a Reagan vs. Commission of I nternal Revenue, 30 SCRA 968, 973, December
27, 1969.
68

Taada vs. Angara
expenses of the United Nations under Article 17, paragraph 2, of

the UN Charter. Hence, all its m embers must bear their
corresponding share in such expenses. In this sense, the Philippine
Congress is restricted in its power to appropriate. It is compelled to
appropriate funds whether it agrees with such peace-keeping
expenses or not. So too, under Article 105 of the said Charter, the
UN and its representatives enjoy diplomatic privileges and
immunities, thereby limiting again the exercise of sovereignty of
members within their own territory. Another example: although
sovereign equality and domestic jurisdiction of all members are
set forth as underlying principles in the UN Charter, such provisos
are however subject to enforcement measures decided by the
Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and
security under Chapter VII of the Charter. A final example: under
Article 103, (i)n the event of a conflict between the obligations of
the Members of the United Nations under the present Charter and
their obligations under any other international agreement, their
obligation under the present charter shall prevail, thus
unquestionably denying the Philippinesas a memberthe
sovereign power to make a choice as to which of conflicting
obligations, if any, to honor. Apart from the UN Treaty, the
Philippines has entered into many other international pactsboth
bilateral and multilateralthat involve limitations on Philippine
sovereignty. These are enumerated by the Solicitor General in his
Compliance dated October 24, 1996, as follows:
(a) Bilateral convention with the United States regarding taxes on
income, where the Philippines agreed, among others , to exempt from tax,
income received in the Philippines by, among others, the Federal Reserve
Bank of the United States, the Export/Import Bank of the United States,
the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the United States.
Likewise, in said convention, wages , salaries and similar remunerations
paid by the United States to its citizens for labor and personal services
performed by them as employees or officials of the United States are
exempt from income tax by the Philippines.
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(b) Bilateral agreement with Belgium, providing, among others, for the
avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income.
(c) Bilateral convention with the Kingdom of Sweden for the avoidance
of double taxation.
(d) Bilateral convention with the French Republic for the avoidance of
double taxation.
(e) Bilateral air transport agreement with Korea where the
Philippines agreed to exempt from all customs duties, inspection
fees and other duties or taxes aircrafts of South Korea and the
regular equipment, spare parts and supplies arriving with said
aircrafts.
(f) Bilateral air service agreement with Japan, where the Philippines
agreed to exempt from customs duties, excise taxes, inspection fees
and other similar duties, taxes or charges fuel, lubricating oils,
spare parts, regular equipment, stores on board Japanese aircrafts
while on Philippine soil.
(g) Bilateral air service agreement with Belgium where the Philippines
granted Belgian air carriers the same privileges as those granted to
Japanese and Korean air carriers under separate air service
agreements.
(h) Bilateral notes with Israel for the abolition of transit and vis itor
visas where the Philippines exempted Israeli nationals from the
requirement of obtaining transit or visitor visas for a sojourn in the
Philippines not exceeding 59 days.
(i) Bilateral agreement with France exempting French nationals from
the requirement of obtaining transit and visitor visa for a sojourn
not exceeding 59 days.
(j) Multilateral Convention on Special Missions , where the
Philippines agreed that premises of Special Missions in the
Philippines are inviolable and its agents can not enter said premis
es without consent of the Head of Mission concerned. Special
Missions are also exempted from cus toms duties, taxes and related
charges.
(k) Multilateral Convention on the Law of Treaties. In this convention,
the Philippines agreed to be governed by the Vienna Convention on
the Law of Treaties.
(l) Declaration of the President of the Philippines accepting com puls
ory jurisdiction of the International Court of Jus tice. The
International Court of Justice has jurisdiction in all legal disputes
concerning the interpretation of a treaty, any question of interna
70

Taada vs. Angara
tional law, the existence of any fact which, if established, would

constitute a breach of international obligation.
In the foregoing treaties, the Philippines has effectively agreed to

limit the exercise of its sovereign powers of taxation, eminent
domain and police power. The underlying consideration in this
partial surrender of sovereignty is the reciprocal commitment of the
other contracting states in granting the same privilege and
immunities to the Philippines, its officials and its citizens. The
same reciprocity characterizes the Philippine commitments under
WTO-GATT.
International treaties , whether relating to nuclear disarmament, human
rights, the environment, the law of the sea, or trade, constrain domestic
political sovereignty through the assumption of external obligations. But
unless anarchy in international relations is preferred as an alternative, in
most cases we accept that the benefits of the reciprocal obligations
involved outweigh the costs associated with any loss of political s
overeignty. (T)rade treaties that structure relations by reference to
durable, well-defined substantive norms and objective dispute resolution
procedures reduce the risks of larger countries exploiting raw economic
power to bully smaller countries, by subjecting power relations to some
form of legal ordering. In addition, smaller countries typically stand to
gain disproportionately from trade liberalization. This is due to the simple
fact that liberalization will provide access to a larger set of potential new
trading relationship than in case of the larger country gaining enhanced
48
success to the smaller countrys market.
The point is that, as shown by the foregoing treaties, a portion of

sovereignty may be waived without violating the Constitution,
based on the rationale that the Philippines adopts the generally
accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the
land and adheres to the policy of x x x cooperation and amity with
all nations.
_______________
48 Trebilcock and Howse. The Regulation of International Trade, p. 14, London,
1995, cited on pp. 55-56, Bautista Paper.

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Fourth Issue: The WTO Agreement and Judicial Power

Petitioners aver that paragraph 1, Article 34 of the General
Provisions and Basic Principles of the Agreement49on Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) intrudes on the
power of the Supreme Court to 50
promulgate rules concerning
pleading, practice and procedures. 51
To understand the scope and meaning of Article 34, TRIPS, it
will be fruitful to restate its full text as follows:
Article 34
Process Patents: Burden of Proof
1. For the purposes of civil proceedings in respect of the infringement of

the rights of the owner referred to in paragraph 1(b) of Article 28, if the
subject matter of a patent is a process for obtaining a product, the judicial
authorities shall have the authority to order the defendant to prove that
the process to obtain an identical product is different from the patented
process. Therefore, Members shall provide, in at least one of the following
circumstances, that any identical product when produced without the
consent of the patent owner shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary,
be deemed to have been obtained by the patented process:
(a) if the product obtained by the patented process is new;

(b) if there is a substantial likelihood that the identical product was made by
the process and the owner of the patent has been unable through
reasonable efforts to determine the process actually used.
2. Any Member shall be free to provide that the burden of proof

indicated in paragraph 1 shall be on the alleged infringer only if the
condition referred to in subparagraph (a) is fulfilled or only if the
condition referred to in subparagraph (b) is fulfilled.
3. In the adduction of proof to the contrary, the legitimate interests of
defendants in protecting their manufacturing and business
_______________
49 Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Vol. 31, p. 25445.

50 Item 5, Sec. 5, Article VII I, Constitution.
51 Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Vol. 31, p. 25445.
72

Taada vs. Angara
secrets shall be taken into account.
From the above, a WTO Member is required to provide a rule of

disputable (note the words in the absence of proof to the contrary)
presumption that a product shown to be identical to one produced
with the use of a patented process shall be deemed to have been
obtained by the (illegal) use of the said patented process, (1) where
such product obtained by the patented product is new, or (2) where
there is substantial likelihood that the identical product was
made with the use of the said patented process but the owner of the
patent could not determine the exact process used in obtaining such
identical product. Hence, the burden of proof contemplated by
Article 34 should actually be understood as the duty of the alleged
patent infringer to overthrow such presumption. Such burden,
properly understood, actually refers to the burden of evidence
(burden of going forward) placed on the producer of the identical (or
fake) product to show that his product was produced without the
use of the patented process.
The foregoing notwithstanding, the patent owner still has the
burden of proof since, regardless of the presumption provided
under paragraph 1 of Article 34, such owner still has to introduce
evidence of the existence of the alleged identical product, the fact
that it is identical to the genuine one produced by the patented
process and the fact of newness of the genuine product or the fact
of substantial likelihood that the identical product was made by
the patented process.
The foregoing should really present no problem in changing the
rules of evidence as the present law on the subject, Republic Act No.
165, as amended, otherwise known as the Patent Law, provides a
similar presumption in cases of infringement of patented design or
utility model, thus:
Sec. 60. Infringement.Infringement of a design patent or of a patent for
utility model shall consist in unauthorized copying of the patented design
or utility model for the purpose of trade or industry in the article or
product and in the making, using or selling of the article or product
copying the patented design or utility model. Identity or substantial
identity with the patented design or utility model shall constitute evidence
of copying. (italics supplied)
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Moreover, it should be noted that the requirement of Article 34 to

provide a disputable presumption applies only if (1) the product
obtained by the patented process is NEW or (2) there is a
substantial likelihood that the identical product w as made by the
process and the process owner has not been able through
reasonable effort to determine the process used. Where either of
these two provisos does not obtain, members shall be free to
determine the appropriate method of implementing the provisions
of TRIPS within their own internal systems and processes.
By and large, the arguments adduced in connection with our
disposition of the third issuederogation of legislative powerwill
apply to this fourth issue also. Suffice it to say that the reciprocity
clause more than justifies such intrusion, if any actually exists.
Besides, Article 34 does not contain an unreasonable burden,
consistent as it is with due process and the concept of adversarial
dispute settlement inherent in our judicial system.
So too, since the Philippines is a signatory to most international
conventions on patents, trademarks and copyrights, the adjustment
52
in legislation and rules of procedure will not be substantial.
Fifth Issue: Concurrence Only in the WTO Agreement and

Not in Other Documents Contained in the Final Act
Petitioners allege that the Senate concurrence in the WTO

Agreement and its annexesbut not in the other documents
referred to in the Final Act, namely the Ministerial Declaration and
Decisions and the Understanding on Commitments in Financial
Servicesis defective and insufficient and thus constitutes abuse of
discretion. They submit that such concurrence in the WTO
Agreement alone is flawed because it is in effect a rejection of the
Final Act, which in turn was the document signed by Secretary
Navarro, in representation of the Republic upon authority of the
President. 53They contend that the second letter of the President to
the Senate which
________________

53 See footnote 3 of the text of this letter.
74

Taada vs. Angara
enumerated what constitutes the Final Act should have been the
subject of concurrence of the Senate.
A final act, sometimes called protocol de clture, is an
instrument which records the winding up of the proceedings of a
diplomatic conference and usually includes a reproduction of the
texts of treaties, conventions, recommendations and other acts
agreed upon54 and signed by the plenipotentiaries attending the
conference. It is not the treaty itself. It is rather a summary of the
proceedings of a protracted conference which may have taken place
over several years. The text of the Final Act Embodying the
Results of the Uruguay Round 55
of Multilateral Trade Negotiations
is contained in just one page in Vol. I of the 36-volum e Uruguay
Round of Multilat-
______________
54 Salonga and Yap, op cit., pp. 289-290.

55 The full text, without the signatures, of the Final Act is as follows:
Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round

of Multilateral Trade Negotiations
1. Having met in order to conclude the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade

Negotiations, representatives of the governments and of the European
Comm unities, members of the Trade Negotiations Committee, agree that
the Agreement Establis hing the World Trade Organization (referred to in
the Final Act as the WTO Agreement), the Ministerial Declarations and
Decisions, and the Understanding on Commitments in Financial Services,
as annexed hereto, embody the results of their negotiations and form an
integral part of this Final Act.
2. By signing to the present Final Act, the representatives agree.
(a) to subm it, as appropriate, the WTO Agreement for the consideration of their
respective competent authorities with a view to seeking approval of the Agreement in
accordance with their procedures; and
3. The representative agree on the desirability of acceptance of the WTO

Agreement by all participants in the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade
Negotiations (hereinafter referred to as partici
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Taada vs. Angara
eral Trade Negotiations. By signing said Final Act, Secretary

Navarro as representative of the Republic of the Philippines
undertook:
(a) to submit, as appropriate, the WTO Agreement for the
consideration of their respective competent authorities with a view
to seeking approval of the Agreement in accordance with their
procedures; and
The assailed Senate Resolution No. 97 expressed concurrence in

exactly what the Final Act required from its signatories, namely,
concurrence of the Senate in the WTO Agreement.
_______________
pants) with a view to its entry into force by 1 January 1995, or as early as
possible thereafter. Not later than late 1994, Ministers will meet, in accordance
with the final paragraph of the Punta del Este Ministerial Declarations, to decide
on the international implementation of the results, including the timing of their
entry into force.
4. The representatives agree that the WTO Agreem ent shall be open for
acceptance as a whole, by signature or otherwise, by all participants
pursuant to Article XIV thereof. The acceptance and entry into force of a
Plurilateral Trade Agreement included in Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement
shall be governed by the provisions of that Plurilateral Trade Agreement.
5. Before accepting the WTO Agreement, participants which are not
contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade must
first have concluded negotiations for their acces sion to the General
Agreement and become contracting parties thereto. For participants which
are not contracting parties to the General Agreement as of the date of the
Final Act, the Schedules are not definitive and shall be subsequently
completed for the purpose of their accession to the General Agreement and
acceptance of the WTO Agreement.
6. This Final Act and the texts annexed hereto shall be deposited with the
Director-General to the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the General Agreem
ent on Tariffs and Trade who shall promptly furnish to each participant a
certified copy thereof. DONE at Marrakesh this fifteenth day of April one
thousand nine hundred and ninety-four, in a single copy, in the English,
French and Spanish languages, each text being authentic.
76

Taada vs. Angara
The Ministerial Declarations and Decisions were deemed adopted

without need for ratification. They were approved by the ministers
by virtue of Article XXV: 1 of GATT which provides that
representatives of the members can meet to give effect to those
provisions of this Agreement which invoke joint action, and
generally with a view to facilitating
56
the operation and furthering
the objectives of this Agreement.
The Understanding on Com mitments in Financial Services also
approved in Marrakesh does not apply to the Philippines. It applies
only to those 27 Members which have indicated in their respective
schedules of commitments on standstill, elimination of monopoly,
expansion of operation of existing financial service suppliers,
temporary entry of personnel, free transfer and processing of
information, and national treatment with respect to access to
payment, clearing systems
57
and refinancing available in the normal
course of business.
On the other hand, the WTO Agreement itself expresses what58
multilateral agreements are deemed included as its integral parts,
as follow s:
Article II
Scope of the WTO
1. The WTO shall provide the common institutional framework for the
conduct of trade relations among its Members in matters to the
agreements and associated legal instruments included in the
Annexes to this Agreement.
2. The Agreements and associated legal instruments included in
Annexes 1, 2, and 3 (hereinafter referred to as Multilateral
Agreements) are integral parts of this Agreement, binding on all
Members.
3. The Agreements and associated legal instruments included in
Annex 4 (hereinafter referred to as Plurilateral Trade
Agreements) are also part of this Agreement for those Members
that have accepted them, and are binding on those Members. The
Plurilateral
_______________

58 Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Vol. I, pp. 137-138.
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Taada vs. Angara
Trade Agreements do not create either obligation or rights for Members

that have not accepted them.
4. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 as specified in
Annex 1A (hereinafter referred to as GATT 1994) is legally distinct from

the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, dated 30 October 1947,
annexed to the Final Act adopted at the conclusion of the Second Session
of the Preparatory Committee of the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Employment, as subsequently rectified, amended or modified
(hereinafter referred to as GATT 1947).
It should be added that the Senate was well-aware of w hat it was

concurring in as shown by the members deliberation on August 25,
1994.59After reading the letter of President Ramos dated August 11,
1994, the senators of the Republic 60minutely dissected w hat the
Senate was concurring in, as follow s:
THE CHAIRMAN: Yes. Now, the question of the validity of the

submission came up in the first day hearing of this Committee
yesterday. Was the observation made by Senator Taada that
what was submitted to the Senate was not the agreement on es
tablishing the World Trade Organization by the final act of the
Uruguay Round which is not the same as the agreement
establishing the World Trade Organization? And on that basis,
Senator Tolentino raised a point of order which, however, he
agreed to withdraw upon understanding that his suggestion for
an alternative solution at that time was acceptable. That
suggestion was to treat the proceedings of the Committee as
being in the nature of briefings for Senators until the question of
the submission could be clarified. And so, Secretary Romulo, in
effect, is the President submitting a new. . . is he making a new
submission which improves on the clarity of the first submission?
MR. ROMULO: Mr. Chairman, to make sure that it is clear cut and
there should be no misunderstanding, it was his intention to
clarify all matters by giving this letter.
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you.
_______________
59 See footnote 3 for complete text.

60 Taken from pp. 63-85, Respondent Memorandum.
78

Taada vs. Angara
Can this Comm ittee hear from Senator Taada and later on
Senator Tolentino since they were the ones that raised this
question yesterday?
Senator Taada, please.
SEN. TAADA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Based on what Secretary Romulo has read, it would now clearly
appear that what is being submitted to the Senate for ratification
is not the Final Act of the Uruguay Round, but rather the
Agreement on the World Trade Organization as well as the
Ministerial Declarations and Decisions, and the Understanding
and Comm itm ents in Financial Services.
I am now satisfied with the wording of the new submission of
President Ramos.
SEN. TAADA. . . . of President Ramos, Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Taada. Can we hear from
Senator Tolentino? And after him Senator Neptali Gonzales and
Senator Lina.
SEN. TOLENTI NO. MR. Chairman, I have not seen the new
submission actually transmitted to us but I saw the draft of his
earlier, and I think it now complies with the provisions of the
Constitution, and with the Final Act itself. The Constitution does
not require us to ratify the Final Act. It requires us to ratify the
Agreement which is now being submitted. The Final Act itself
specifies what is going to be submitted to with the governments of
the participants.
In paragraph 2 of the Final Act, we read and I quote:
By signing the present Final Act, the representatives agree: (a) to submit as
appropriate the WTO Agreement for the consideration of the respective
competent authorities with a view to seeking approval of the Agreement in
accordance with their procedures.
In other words, it is not the Final Act that was agreed to be

submitted to the governments for ratification or acceptance as
whatever their constitutional procedures may provide but it is the
World Trade Organization Agreement. And if that is the one that
is being submitted now, I think it satisfies both the Constitution
and the Final Act itself.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Tolentino, May I call on
Senator Gonzales.
79
VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 79

Taada vs. Angara
SEN. GONZALES. Mr. Chairman, my views on this matter are

already a matter of record. And they had been adequately
reflected in the journal of yesterdays session and I dont see any
need for repeating the same.
Now, I would consider the new submission as an act ex abudante
cautela.
THE CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Gonzales. Senator Lina, do
you want to make any comment on this?
SEN. LINA. Mr. President, I agree with the observation just made by
Senator Gonzales out of the abundance of question. Then the new
submission is, I believe, stating the obvious and therefore I have
no further comment to make.
Epilogue
In praying for the nullification of the Philippine ratification of the

WTO Agreement, petitioners are invoking this Courts
constitutionally imposed duty to determine whether or not there
has been grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction on the part of the Senate in giving its concurrence
therein via Senate Resolution No. 97. Procedurally, a writ of
certiorari grounded on grave abuse of discretion may be issued by
the Court under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court when it is amply
shown that petitioners have no other plain, speedy and adequate
remedy in the ordinary course of law.
By grave abuse of discretion is meant such capricious and
whimsical exercise
61
of judgment as is equivalent to lack of
jurisdiction. Mere abuse of discretion is not enough. It must be
grave abuse of discretion as when the power is exercised in an
arbitrary or despotic manner by reason of passion or personal
hostility, and must be so patent and so gross as to amount to an
evasion of a positive duty or to a virtual refusal to 62perform the duty
enjoined or to act at all in contemplation of law. Failure on the
part of the petitioner to show grave
_______________
61Zarate vs. Olegario, G.R. No. 90655, October 7, 1996.

62San Sebastian College vs. Court of Appeals, 197 SCRA 138, 144, May 15, 1991;
Comm issioner of Internal Revenue vs. Court of Tax Appeals, 195 SCRA 444, 458
March 20, 1991; Simon vs. Civil
80

Taada vs. Angara
63
abuse of discretion will result in the dismissal of the petition.
In rendering this D ecision, this Court never forgets that the
Senate, whose act is under review, is one of two sovereign houses of
Congress and is thus entitled to great respect in its actions. It is
itself a constitutional body independent and coordinate, and thus its
actions are presumed regular and done in good faith. Unless
convincing proof and persuasive arguments are presented to
overthrow such presumptions, this Court will resolve every doubt in
its favor. Using the foregoing well-accepted definition of grave abuse
of discretion and the presumption of regularity in the Senates
processes, this Court cannot find any cogent reason to impute grave
abuse of discretion to the Senates exercise of its power of
concurrence in the WTO 64
Agreement granted it by Sec. 21 of Article
VII of the Constitution.
It is true, as alleged by petitioners, that broad constitutional
principles require the State to develop an independent national
economy effectively controlled by Filipinos; and to protect and/or
prefer Filipino labor, products, dom estic materials and locally
produced goods. But it is equally true that such principleswhile
serving as judicial and legislative guidesare not in themselves
sources of causes of action. Moreover, there are other equally
fundamental constitutional principles relied upon by the Senate
which mandate the pursuit of a trade policy that serves the general
welfare and utilizes all forms and arrangements of exchange on the
basis of equality and reciprocity and the promotion of industries w
hich are competitive in both domestic and foreign markets, thereby
justifying its acceptance of said treaty. So too, the alleged
impairment of sovereignty in the exercise of legisla-
_______________
Service Commission, 215 SCRA 410, November 5, 1992; Bustamante vs.

Commissioner on Audit, 216 SCRA 134, 136, November 27, 1992.
63 Paredes vs. Civil Service Commission, 192 SCRA 84, 94, December 4, 1990.
64 Sec. 21. No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective
unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.
81
VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 81

Taada vs. Angara
tive and judicial powers is balanced by the adoption of the generally

accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the
land and the adherence of the Constitution to the policy of
cooperation and amity with all nations.
That the Senate, after deliberation and voting, voluntarily and
overwhelmingly gave its consent to the WTO Agreement thereby
making it a part of the law of the land is a legitimate exercise of
its sovereign duty and power. We find no patent and gross
arbitrariness or despotism by reason of passion or personal
hostility in such exercise. It is not impossible to surmise that this
Court, or at least some of its members, may even agree with
petitioners that it is more advantageous to the national interest to
strike down Senate Resolution No. 97. But that is not a legal reason
to attribute grave abuse of discretion to the Senate and to nullify its
decision. To do so would constitute grave abuse in the exercise of
our own judicial power and duty. Ineludably, what the Senate did
was a valid exercise of its authority. As to whether such exercise
was wise, beneficial or viable is outside the realm of judicial inquiry
and review. That is a matter between the elected policy makers and
the people. As to whether the nation should join the worldwide
march toward trade liberalization and economic globalization is a m
atter that our people should determine in electing their policy

makers. After all, the WTO Agreement allows withdrawal of
membership, should this be the political desire of a member.
The eminent futurist John Naisbitt, author65
of the best seller
Megatrends, predicts an Asian Renaissance where the East will
become the dominant region of the world economically, politically
and culturally in the next century. He refers to the free market
espoused by WTO as the catalyst in this com in g A sian ascend
ancy . There are at present about 31 countries including China,
Russia and Saudi Arabia negotiating for membership in the WTO.
Notwithstanding objections against possible l imitation s on n at
ional sovereignty, the WTO remains as the only viable structure for
multilateral
_______________
65 Readers Digest, December 1996 issue, p. 28.
82

Taada vs. Angara
trading and the veritable forum for the development of

international trade law. The alternative to WTO is isolation,
stagnation, if not economic self-destruction. Duly enriched with
original membership, keenly aware of the advantages and
disadvantages of globalization with its on-line experience, and
endowed with a vision of the future, the Philippines now straddles
the crossroads of an international strategy for economic prosperity
and stability in the new millennium. Let the people, through their
duly authorized elected officers, make their free choice.
WHEREFORE, the petition is DISMISSED for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.
Narvasa (C.J.), Regalado, Davide, Jr., Romero, Bellosillo,

Melo, Puno, Kapunan, Mendoza, Francisco, Hermosisima, Jr. and
Torres, Jr., JJ., concur.
Padilla and Vitug, JJ., In the result.
Petition dismissed.
Notes.The primary purpose of the commissioners in expanding

the concept of judicial power is to eliminate the defense of political
question which in the past deprived the Supreme Court of the
jurisdiction to strike down abuses of power by government. (Arroyo
vs. House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, 246 SCRA 384
[1995])
When the Constitution mandates that in the grant of rights,
privileges, and concessions covering national economy and
patrimony, the State shall give preference to qualified Filipinos, it
means just thatqualified Filipinos shall be preferred. (Manila
Prince Hotel vs. Government Service Insurance System, 267 SCRA
[1997])
o0o
83
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 272

20 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Taada vs. Angara

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 21

Taada vs. Angara

Same; Same; Separation of Powers; Due Process.The reasons for

22 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Taada vs. Angara

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 23

Taada vs. Angara

promotersexpand the countrys exports and generate more employment?

24 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Taada vs. Angara

Philippines, expressly or impliedly, as a member of the family of nations.

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 25

Taada vs. Angara

dures. x x x By and large, the arguments adduced in connection with our

26 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Taada vs. Angara

newness of the genuine product or the fact of substantial likelihood

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 27

Taada vs. Angara

Same; Same; Same; Treaties; World Trade Organization; The Senate

28 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Taada vs. Angara

a vision of the future, the Philippines now straddles the crossroads of an

SPECIAL CIVIL ACTION in the Supreme Court. Certiorari.

The facts are stated in the Opinion of the Court.

Brief Historical Background

To hasten worldwide recovery from the devastation wrought by the

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 29

1 In Annex A of her Memorandum, dated August 8, 1996, received by this

30 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Like many other developing countries, the Philippines joined WTO

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 31

lated by President Fidel V. Ramos in two letters to the Senate

three committees in GATT: Committee I to convene a further tariff negotiating conference;

32 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

new opportunities for the services sector x x x, (the reduction of)

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 33

34 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

letter, the Philippinesand this is of special interest to the legal

The Petition in Brief

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 35

violating the mandate of the 1987 Constitution to develop a self-

On April 15, 1994, Respondent Rizalino Navarro, then Secretary of

Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentine Republic, Australia, Republic of Austria,

36 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

(a) to submit, as appropriate, the WTO Agreement for the

On August 12, 1994, the members of the Philippine Senate received

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 37

38 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

concurrence pursuant to Section 21, Article VII of the Constitution.

(a) To submit the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization to

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 39

40 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

CONCURRING IN THE RATIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING

to meet a public emergency consisting of the need for immediate

6 Attached as Annex A; Petition; rollo, p. 52. P.S. 1083 is the forerunner of

VOL. 272, MAY 2, 1997 41

Annex 1A: Multilateral Agreement on Trade in Goods

Understanding on Rules and Procedures

Trade Policy Review Mechanism